The Runaways
by MarloeFanfiction
Summary: "They told us we were too young to know what love was, but nothing could keep us apart." Bella and Edward are 16 and in high school when they get the news of an impending separation, but knowing that they can't be apart, they make a drastic decision that changes their lives forever. They leave the comfort of family and home for the road, all for true love.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Hey all of you who clicked on this story, enough intrigued by the plot and summary to check it out! I hope we won't disappoint you.

The one talking to you right now is MarieCarro, but this author account is a shared account between me and cloemarrie. We have written this story together by separating it into pov's.

Bella Pov is written by MarieCarro

Edward Pov is written by cloemarrie.

Because cloe and I live on two different continents, we sometimes have a hard time to sync, time-wise, but we're going to truly try and not have that become a problem for when this story is updated.

We do not have a set updating schedule just yet, but we will get back to you on that later on.

For now, I welcome you all once again and enjoy reading the first story collab between MarieCarro and cloemarrie. Together, we are MarloeFanfiction! :-D

* * *

 **{Chapter 1}**

 **Bella POV**

"Do you want to come over to my place?" I asked Edward while we walked across the parking lot after school. "We could fix something to eat and then pretend to do our homework in my room." I gave him a mischievous smile as he chuckled with delight.

I loved to hear him laugh. It's a sound I practically lived for, because if Edward was happy, I was happy. That's always been the way for us, which was probably why it didn't take too long for us to become a couple once we started to hang out. We gravitated toward each other in a way I had never encountered with another human being before.

He was my everything, just like I was his, and I knew that I would spend the rest of my life with him. It didn't matter that we were only sixteen. We knew what we wanted in life.

We had everything planned out: we'd graduate high school, go to college together where Edward would earn a degree in music while I got my master's to become a writer, then we'd move to New York. We'd get married and have two kids, and a cat or a dog if we could ever agree on one of them.

"I would love pretending to do homework with you, but Mom and Dad said that I had to go home straight after school. They apparently had news for me and Alice."

"News? What kind of news?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, but Mom smiled when she said it, so it can't be anything bad."

"Okay, but you'll call me tonight, right?"

We stopped walking and he cradled my face in his hands. "Baby, I _always_ call you at night, you know that." I did know that. It was a part of our nightly routine. Neither of us could sleep without it. We just had to hear each other's voices before going to sleep. It made it easier to imagine that we were together.

"I know, but I just like hearing you say it," I said with a smile before standing on my toes to place a kiss on his wonderful lips. I could easily live off of kissing Edward. I needed him more than I needed air to breathe.

Well, at least in my head. I guess, in real life, it would be very difficult to learn to live without breathing.

"Get a room!" We heard Mike Newton yell in our direction from the other side of the lot.

I pulled away from Edward and turned toward the annoying asshat. "Drop dead, Mike!" He laughed in response, and I huffed in annoyance before grabbing Edward's hand and continuing our way toward our cars. "I hate that guy," I mumbled to myself.

Edward kissed my temple softly. "Ignore him. He's just jealous."

"I still hate him."

"You and I both, baby."

When we reached our cars, we kissed goodbye before driving our separate ways.

Mom was already home when I pulled into the driveway. I saw her walking around in the kitchen through the window and smiled when I noticed the phone pressed against her ear. That was my mom in a nutshell; constantly on the phone.

Dad always teased her that one of these days, her phone would get stuck and she would have to live with it attached to her head for the rest of her life.

She never thought that was funny and always replied with why she had to be on the phone. Since Dad and I had heard the same reason for years now, we could almost recite it backward in our sleep.

My mom worked as a stockbroker, something I'd always thought was hilarious. She couldn't figure out our microwave to save her life, but all of those numbers that didn't make any sense to a normal person were child's play for her.

"Mom, I'm home!" I called out when I entered through the front door, and caught Mom making a stopping gesture with her hand as if to tell me to be quiet. I sighed and went to my room to relieve myself of my backpack.

Inside my room, I couldn't stop myself from looking at the frame on my desk, just like I did every day. It was a small picture taken of me and Edward in a photo booth at a carnival that came to town during the summer.

The other pictures from the strip were all goofy and funny, but this one was my favorite. I was sitting in his lap, his arms were wound around my stomach, and he was kissing my cheek.

The day had been a celebration of our two months as a couple. It had been the best day ever because that was the day I realized that I loved Edward Cullen and that I would follow him anywhere in the world.

I decided to start on my homework before Dad came home and started dinner. If I could finish as much as possible, I would have my weekend free, and I would be able to spend it with Edward.

I dug out my history book from my backpack and tried to get lost in the stories of the Civil War. It was hard, though. History was never my favorite subject. In fact, I hated it. I couldn't see the point in learning something that happened over a hundred years ago. Yes, it helped to shape the way our country is today, but still. It happened, but now it's over.

A couple of hours later, I heard the doorbell ring, and since Dad wasn't home yet, I knew that it was my responsibility to open the door. Mom wouldn't do it. Not when she was so focused on her phone.

I closed my book and made my way down the stairs. Sure enough, Mom was still on the phone. She was making big gestures with her hand while she said things like: "No! Do not sell! It has to fall below one point forty percent first!"

I shook my head at her and walked toward the door.

I was shocked when I saw Edward standing outside with a distressed expression on his face. His hair stood in every direction, more so than usual, and his eyes held a desperate glint in them.

"Edward? What's wrong?"

 **{=TR=}**

 **Edward POV**

What do you tell someone you plan on spending the rest of your life with that you're moving to Paris because your mom got a job offer? I didn't know how to tell her, but it would crush her.

"I just got some very upsetting news," I finally said with a frown.

"Let's go up to my room" she, responded a little worried.

We walked up the stairs to her room to talk.

"Now, spill. What's going on?" she asked as the door closed behind us.

"Where's your dad?" I asked, trying to distract her.

"He's at work. Why?" she asked.

"Nothing, I was just wondering. What have you been up to today?" I asked, again trying to distract her.

"You know what I've been up to. We've been at school and I haven't been home that long. Now stop trying to distract me." Her voice, although calm, was laced with panic. "You're scaring me. I've never seen you like this."

I took a deep breath and sighed. "My mom got a job offer and we're supposed to be moving."

"Where is this job?" she asked, worry clouding her voice.

"Paris," I whispered.

She was quiet for what seemed like an eternity before she spoke. "You're leaving me?"

"Baby, no, I would never leave you."

"Then what are we going to do?" Her voice cracked.

"I don't know," I replied.

I wrapped my arms around her as she wrapped hers around me and we just held each other for a while. I really didn't know what we were going to do, all I knew was that our life together as we knew it was over.

How could my mother be so selfish? Turning my life upside down just to suit her. Just so she could have the "perfect" job. How could she expect me to drop everything … my life … my Bella … so she could get what she wanted?

I wanted to marry Bella. I was going to buy her a ring, and at graduation, in front of everyone, teachers, family, fellow graduates, I was going to get down on one knee and ask her to be my wife.

I love my Bella more than life itself, and I'm not about to give up on us just because my selfish mother tells me to. Oh no, I won't give up without a fight!

A beeping noise broke me out of my thoughts. It was a message from my father telling me I had to get home. They, apparently, still needed to talk to me. I sighed deeply and Bella looked up at me.

"My father says I need to get home. They still need to talk to me," I said with another sigh. "But I will be back, baby, I promise." I kissed her once and cradled her face between my hands. "I love you!"

"I love you, too! Hurry back," she called after me as I left her room.

A few minutes later, I pulled into my driveway. I sat in my car for a few extra minutes until my father walked outside and hollered at me.

"Edward, come inside! We need to discuss this further." He smiled.

"You already know how I feel," I snarled at him through my open window.

"Yes, well, your mother and I still feel it's necessary to discuss the details with you and your sister," he said, his smile tightening at the corners.

I reluctantly got out of my car and went into the house.

"Now, you already know about the job, and it's no longer simply an offer. Your mother has accepted, and we'll move before the end of the year," he said

"What about school? All of my friends are here, and Bella and I had plans after graduation," I told him through clenched teeth. I had a hard time restraining myself from hitting him, but he was my father, and I had been raised better than that.

"You'll go to a new school; you're intelligent, so there will be no problem for you to adjust to the new classes, even though it's in the middle of the term, and you'll make new, even better friends," he replied

I was furious. I was almost seventeen and they were telling me that I had no choice in the matter.

Yes, I was smart, that wasn't the issue, but I grew up with my friends here in Illinois and Bella; I love her and I can't see myself being with anyone but her.

"No! I don't _want_ to make new friends! I want to stay _here_ with my old friends, and Bella!" I spat. I was trying hard not to lose my temper.

"What do you see in her? She's not good enough for you, and I've told you that multiple times already. Why continue seeing her?" my father asked with a glare.

"I don't care what you told me or what you think! I love her!" I bit back.

"I forbid you to see that girl again! You _will_ move with us, and that's the end of this discussion," my father yelled at me.

"No, I'm—"

"Edward, what's so wrong with Paris?" My little sister, Alice, peeked out from behind our father. She turned to him with huge eyes. "Daddy, I _want_ to go."

"And you will, sweetheart," my father responded, while still glaring at me.

"Alice, stay out of this!" I snapped at her.

"This is a family discussion so my opinion counts, too," Alice said, pouting.

I rolled my eyes at her childish ways.

"I can't wait until we get to Paris! French fashion is so different from American, and the shopping will be the best!" Alice clapped her hands. She was all giddy.

That was the moment I knew that I would not be leaving with them. I needed to talk to Bella, but I couldn't leave just yet, so I stormed upstairs to my room.

Around midnight, I decided to sneak out and go over to my love's house.

I took pebbles that I found on her driveway and tossed them at her window until she appeared.

"Open the window," I stage whispered to her.

She complied, and I used the tree next to the house to help me get up to her window. I climbed it very carefully and went through her window as quietly as I could so her folks wouldn't wake up.

* * *

 **A/N:** We got a few introductions there and both cloe and I would love to hear your thoughts and feelings on the characters! Do you love them? Do you hate them? Are you indifferent? :-P No matter how you feel or what your thoughts are, we love to hear all about it :-D

Hugs and kisses!

~Marloe


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Hey everyone, MarieCarro here again! So I want to begin by saying that both cloe and I were just amazed and totally blown away by the response we got on the first chapter. I mean it was amazing and I want to thank all of you for your kind response and feedback!

I also want to give a little shout out here to out beta, Belynda Smith who jumped onto this bandwagon just two days ago! She's awesome and deserves all the credit for the amazing job she does of making this story readable :-)

So what do you all say about seeing what out two teenagers will do with the news they got in the last chapter, huh?

* * *

 **{Chapter 2}**

 **Bella POV**

I had almost succeeded in falling asleep when Edward arrived at my house past midnight. Shocked that he was there, I couldn't do anything but comply when he asked me to open my window.

With agility I hadn't seen before, he climbed the tree outside and through my window with ease. When he finally had his feet on the floor, I regained my voice.

"Edward, what are you doing here? It's the middle of the night," I said in a hushed whisper. My parents' room was right next to mine, and I didn't want to wake them up.

Edward looked at me with defeated eyes, and I felt my stomach drop. His expression could only mean one thing. He _had_ to move.

My eyes welled up while my heart broke into a million pieces. How would I be able to live on without him? The answer was that I couldn't. I wouldn't.

"So there's no way then?" My tears spilled over and ran down my cheeks steadily. Edward placed his hands on my face and brushed my tears away with his thumbs.

"There's always a way. It's just going to be a bit more difficult than we first thought." I had closed my eyes while he spoke, but he wouldn't have any of that. He forced me to look at him by tilting my head backward. "Bella, I won't leave you. You're my life, and I can't live without you."

I smiled through my tears. He always had the ability to make me smile even though all I felt was sadness. I stood up on my toes and pressed my lips tenderly against his.

When we pulled apart, Edward asked if he could stay the night. I would never have denied him. Not even if I hadn't also felt the strong need to have him close to me while I slept. If these were possibly the last nights we had together, we wouldn't waste them being separated. That was simply absurd.

I slept in his arms that night, and I had never had a better night's sleep in my entire life.

I woke up when my alarm sounded through the room, and for a moment, I had no recollection of the night before, so the arms that were embracing me from behind made me stiffen before I remembered that it was Edward.

We hadn't shared a bed before because our parents wouldn't allow us to sleep over at the other's house, but it didn't feel awkward in any way, and it convinced me even further that Edward and I were meant to be together.

My bliss didn't last very long, though. I heard my mother talking downstairs and I knew that if I didn't come down in five minutes, she would knock on my door while stressing that I had to get to school.

I sighed deeply and turned around to wake Edward up.

I smiled at his relaxed expression. It was so different from the frown he'd worn when he came through my window. This was the Edward I wanted to see, not the troubled person who looked like he had the world on his shoulders.

I reluctantly woke him up and told him that he had to leave, but before he climbed through my window again, I stopped him when an idea entered my head.

My mother had a lot of influence in the business world; her contacts made sure of that, and I was sure that she would be able to help us, somehow. Maybe that was the solution we needed. If my mom helped, then maybe Edward wouldn't have to move after all.

I told Edward of my idea and he smiled widely, kissed me and encouraged me to give it a go. It wouldn't exactly hurt to have another person on our side.

Mom was on the phone, as usual, when I entered the kitchen. I decided to keep her in a good mood by being as quiet as possible and not disturb her conversation.

Five minutes later, she hung up and I saw my window.

"Hey, Mom, I was wondering, don't you have clients and contacts in Paris?"

Mom looked at me like I'd grown a second head, and I could understand why. I never asked her about her work; ever! She narrowed her eyes at me and her look was suspicious. She was no fool. She knew that I wanted something out of this.

"What is it that you want, Bella?"

My breath escaped me with a whoosh, and I told her everything, although I kept to myself that Edward had spent the night in my bed. She wouldn't have liked that very much.

I began to cry when I came to the part where Edward had "called me" and told me that his parents gave him no choice and that he had to move with them to Paris.

Mom listened to me patiently, and when I started to cry, she rose from her chair and enveloped me in one of her rare, but very warm and soft, hugs. She used to hug me all the time when I was younger, but it had all changed when I reached puberty. According to her, I was almost an adult and cuddling with my mother was not something an adult woman should need to do.

I disagreed strongly on that point. The physical love between a child and their parents was just as important as the mental.

"Oh, honey! I understand how difficult this must feel for you." She stroked my hair and allowed me to cry into her neck. "But, darling, you're only sixteen. You have your whole life ahead of you, and you'll have moved on in a month or two. There _will_ be _other_ Edwards."

I took a few seconds for me to register exactly what she said, but when I did, I pushed her away from me violently. How could she say that? Didn't she see how much I loved Edward; that he was my life?

I had completely lost my appetite, so I skipped breakfast and made my way to my car.

The parking lot was almost empty since it was still very early, but I spotted Edward's car at the end, and I quickly parked next to it. But I didn't exit my car. I couldn't just yet. I needed to control my raging emotions first before I faced my boyfriend that could read my face better than anyone.

My door was opened, and Edward stood outside looking worried. He had changed clothes, and no one would suspect that he'd spent the night with me.

With just one look at him, I burst into tears once again. He didn't say anything. He simply took me into his arms and led me away from the parking lot. It was quite obvious that we would skip first period.

 **{=TR=}**

 **Edward POV**

I held onto Bella while she cried heartbreakingly against my chest. I wanted to cry, too, but I would have time for that later. This was about my girl who was in pain, and she needed to let it out.

Her stress caused her breath to be high in her throat, and she stuttered badly when she explained what her mother had said to her.

"Sh-she actu-ually s-suggested that I w-would f-f-find a n-new y-you!" I tightened my embrace and kissed the top of her hair. "Sh-she ha-ad the n-nerve to say-y that I wo-ould get o-over you!"

I was furious with Renée. Not so much for what she said—my parents weren't much better—but for her part in my girl's pain. I couldn't accept anyone that harmed my Bella.

I didn't say anything. I just held my arms around her until she stopped crying and calmed her breathing down.

She eventually looked up at me with red-rimmed eyes, and I placed both of my hands on her cheeks to wipe away her remaining tears with my thumbs. Then I leaned forward and kissed her precious mouth. Like always, we lost ourselves in the kiss, simply going with our instincts.

When the kiss ended, we leaned our foreheads against each other. Our panting breaths mixed together between us, and we just held on tight.

I had my eyes closed and just reveled in the moment. Soon, we might not have this anymore.

"Run away with me."

I opened my eyes and frowned. I wasn't sure if I'd heard her correctly. I'd still been wrapped up in my kiss-induced haze. "What?" I asked.

"Run away with me, Edward. If we left it all behind, we could be together."

I wanted to say yes, with all of my heart, but I was afraid that it was only a spur of the moment question. I had to make sure that she meant it.

"Are you serious?"

Without hesitating, or taking her gaze off me, she answered. "I've never been more serious in my entire life."

I leaned forward and kissed her again. My answer was, of course, yes, and I made sure to pour all of the emotions I felt into the kiss since I couldn't explain them with words. I still had my arms tightly wound around her and I wasn't planning on letting her go anytime soon, but the bell that signaled the end of first period rang, and I knew that if we missed another class, our parents would be notified. I already had enough trouble with my dad without having him pissed at me for missing my classes.

I remained with one arm around her shoulders and my head leaning on top of hers as we went to our next lesson.

I had a hard time focusing on any of my classes for the rest of the day. My mind was constantly with Bella and on what she had planned for us. I wasn't sure how we'd pull it off, but I wasn't afraid to try. I would do anything if it meant that I could keep my Bella.

After school, we walked to our cars as usual and went home separately. We wouldn't be apart for long. I just needed to drop off my bag and make an appearance at home so that they knew I was still here.

When I got home, I went straight up to my room and dropped off my bag on the floor, before going back down. I immediately headed for the door and completely ignored the fact that my name was being called from the living room.

When I reached Bella's house, I saw that Charlie was in the middle of repairing one of the chairs they had in their garden. He looked up when he heard my engine and gave me a nod as a greeting.

I hadn't even opened my mouth yet when Charlie began talking, still with his back to me.

"You can just go straight inside. She's been waiting for you."

"Is she—?"

"Up in her room."

His tone was a bit clipped, but that was nothing new. That was just the way Chief Charlie Swan talked.

Bella's door was open and I found her sitting on her knees and digging after something in her closet.

I knocked on the doorframe to get her attention.

"No, Dad, I told you that I don't want to be disturbed," she said without coming out of the closet.

I chuckled. "I could always leave again if you want."

Bella immediately turned to me and flew into my arms.

I wrapped my arms around her waist and just held her; willing myself to relax. After a moment, I led her to her bed so that we could sit and talk.

"What were you doing in the closet?" I asked curiously.

"Do you remember my older brother, Emmett?" she asked, with a small glint in her eyes.

"I do, why?" I answered, a bit surprised. Bella had a nine years older brother named Emmett. Seven years ago, he packed a bag and left without ever coming back. I never fully understood why, only that his relationship with their parents was very strained.

Bella, being at the tender age of nine when he left, had taken it all very hard. She had been very close to her brother, and when he left, she thought she was part of the reason. For a long time, she thought that he hated her.

This was, however, something I'd only learned very recently, since Bella and I didn't begin hanging out until sophomore year.

I did meet Emmett once. He was sixteen and I was seven. I couldn't remember much of the encounter, only that I'd been scared shitless of the huge guy in front of me, even though he wore a friendly grin.

"A few days after he left, I went into his room and found a letter with my name on it. I took it back in here and I've had it in my closet ever since," Bella said.

"What did it say?" I asked.

"I don't know. I never opened it," she replied as she went back to her closet and retrieved an old, yellowed envelope, "not until today."

She walked back over to the bed and sat down next to me. She started opening it, but I stopped her.

"Wait!" I stood up from the bed and closed her door. She smiled at me and pulled out a ripped out notebook page. She frowned as she read it and I walked up to her to see what it said.

 _Belly-Bean,_

 _You know that floorboard in my room that creaks?_

 _You'll find everything you need underneath it._

\- _Emmy-Bear_

Bella placed the note down on her bed and left the room. I re-read the note and couldn't stop myself from smiling at the nicknames they had for each other.

When Bella came back, she was holding an average sized parcel in her hand.

Once again, she began opening it with eager fingers. I placed my hand on top of hers. "Not here. We don't want your folks walking in and seeing it. I don't think Emmett would have wanted that either. He wouldn't have gone to such lengths to hide it otherwise. Let's go for a drive," I said as I stood up and grabbed her hand.

She thought about it for a minute and then stood up as well. "You're right. Let's go."

We walked outside, and to the car after telling Bella's parents that we were taking a drive down to the beach in my car. The best way to keep them from being suspicious was to act normal. I helped Bella into her seat and then ran around the car and got in myself. I started the engine and backed out of the driveway.

Eventually, we reached a secluded place by the shore of Lake Michigan. Both Bella and I lived in the suburbs of the North Shore in Chicago, so we weren't too far from home. I parked the car but didn't get out.

"Now you can open it," I said gently.

She sighed as she opened up her brother's package with shaky fingers and dumped the contents out in her lap.

There was an envelope with money, a very outdated-looking disposable cell phone, one letter, and a note with a number and an address. Bella looked at the phone in shock while I looked at the envelope with money. I counted it and almost swallowed my tongue. There was over three thousand dollars in there.

He had everything planned out to make sure Bella was safe, with things she needed.

Bella was holding the phone in one hand and the number in her other. She was staring at the phone with tears in her eyes.

"All this time, he was only a phone call away," she whispered out. Her voice was thick with suppressed tears.

"You should call him," I said.

"What if he doesn't answer?" she continued talking in a whisper.

"You won't know unless you try, love," I whispered back with my arms around her for comfort.

I sat quietly next to her while she tried the number.

When she hung up without saying anything, I looked at her quizzically.

"It went straight to voicemail. I'll call again later."

I nodded and Bella took up the letter from her lap. She began reading it, and since it was a personal letter to her, I stayed quiet and waited for her to finish.

I thought back on that one time that I met Emmett and smiled when I remembered that Bella had been with him.

Mom and I were grocery shopping when a small, giggling girl ran straight into Mom's legs. She'd blushed, apologized and backed away slowly when Emmett came forward and reprimanded her that she couldn't run away like that.

"Earth to Edward." Bella was snapping her fingers in front of my face as a way of bringing me out of my thoughts.

"What?" I asked, feeling confused.

"I said that the address is in Mexico. We could go there. Meet up with Emmett. What were you thinking about that caused your head to be up in the clouds?" she asked, amusement coloring her voice.

"Nothing," I said and smiled at her amusement. I was so relieved to see her happy again.

* * *

 **A/N:** What are your thoughts on Bella following in Emmett's footsteps? Let us know and Emmett will give you a huge bear hug! ;-)


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Hey everyone, cloemarrie here! We're still amazed at the response we've gotten for The Runaways! We're so glad that you, our readers, are enjoying this story so far. What are your theories on why Emmett left?

Now on with the show...

* * *

 **{Chapter 3}**

 **Bella POV**

I read the letter Emmett had left for me again, even though I knew the words by heart, at this point.

I just couldn't believe that he'd left the chance for me to contact him. If I'd just opened that letter when I found it, I could have talked to him years ago.

Salty tears slid down my cheeks and into the corners of my mouth as I, yet again, re-read the words written by my brother's hand.

 _Belly-Bean,_

 _If you are reading this letter, it probably means that you finally found the stash I left for you underneath my floorboards. Well, it's about time!_

 _I have no idea if it's been days, months, or even years since I left, but I want you to know that the phone number I left for you will remain reachable until the day you decide to give me a call._

 _I also want you to know that I will miss you every day. You're my Little Bean, and you had absolutely nothing to do with my leaving. Knowing you, I'd guess that you've been blaming yourself ever since I walked out the door._

 _I love you, my sweet, innocent, little sister. That will never change._

 _The purpose of me leaving this for you, and hiding it from Mom and Dad, is so that you'll feel that you can always turn to me if you need to, without Mom and Dad's knowledge. They don't know where I am, and I didn't leave them a chance to contact me as I did you. You are the only person who knows._

 _I hope you'll use this opportunity, and that I'll hear your voice in my ear, soon._

 _I love you forever, Little Bean._

 _Your loving (and insanely hot) big brother,_

 _Emmy-Bear_

I swallowed repeatedly, but the lump that lodged in my throat refused to dissolve.

 _Little Bean._ He always called me that. He once told me that he came up with the name because the first time he saw me, I looked like a bean. I never understood that until he showed me the picture of my first ultrasound. I truly did look like a bean.

I grabbed the old cell phone and the paper that had Emmett's number on it. I'd already tried to call two more times since that time in Edward's car, but each time, it went straight to voicemail.

It had crossed my mind that something could have happened to the phone that Emmett had. It didn't matter that he said that he would remain reachable even if it had been years. Seven years was a long time, and a lot of things could have happened since he wrote the letter and made that promise.

Suddenly, the phone in my hand began to ring. I startled a bit and checked the screen.

I gasped when I recognized the number as the one Emmett had left for me.

Could it be that he was calling me? Was I finally going to talk to my brother again?

But what if it wasn't him? What if someone had stolen the phone from him and now only wanted to know what number it was that continued to call?

With shaky hands, I pressed the button with the green phone on it and brought the device up to my ear. "H-hello?" I stuttered out.

" _Who is this?"_ A deep bass voice came over the speaker. I didn't know if it was Emmett or not. It had been seven years, and I couldn't exactly say that I remembered how his voice sounded. I could barely remember how he looked in real-life. I knew how he looked in photos, but that was different.

"Uh, s-same question to you."

" _I am the owner of the number you keep calling. Now I want to know how you got this number and what you want with me."_

The voice was harsh and gruff. It scared me a bit. I was really beginning to think that this wasn't Emmett. He had never spoken like that before in my memories.

But then I heard a soft female voice in the background and the man's tone immediately became gentler. It triggered memories of softly spoken words before bedtime; of a boisterous laugh, and dimpled cheeks.

I instantly knew that it was, in fact, my brother I was speaking to.

Still, I had to make sure. "E-Emmett? Is that really you?" My throat started to ache as I held back my tears, but I couldn't contain my sob completely.

It was quiet for a moment, and then Emmett spoke again. _"How do you know my name?"_

The relief that washed over me was so great, black spots appeared in my vision; but I refused to faint.

I knew that he wouldn't believe me if I claimed that I was his little sister, so I said the only thing that would convince him. "It's me, Emmy-bear."

I heard his gasp, and I felt like laughing. I was _so_ happy. I was almost as happy as the day that Edward told me that he loved me for the first time.

" _Belly-Bean? Is that really you?"_ Emmett asked in a whisper. I bet he was quite shocked.

"I, Emmett … I can't believe I'm really talking to you," I said, awe coloring my tone. "I missed you so much."

" _Bella, I … I don't know what to say."_ He was quiet for a while but then continued. _"Fuck, Belly, it took you long enough! What's it been? Seven years?"_

"Yeah, close to it."

" _How come you haven't called before?"_

I told him how I first opened his note today. How I had no idea that he'd left all of that stuff behind for me, and also why it had taken me so long to open that note.

" _But you read my letter, didn't you? You know that it wasn't your fault now, right?"_

"Now I know, yeah. I think that it was only for the first couple of months that I actually believed I was the cause. I realized later that it must have had something to do with Mom and Dad because they've refused to even mention you since you left. If it weren't for the photos of you in our albums, it would be impossible to know that you even exist."

" _I guessed that something like that would happen. I am a_ big disappointment _for them, after all."_

I wanted to protest, but I couldn't. He was telling the truth. I remembered how Dad had always talked about how Emmett would walk in his footsteps and become a police officer, but that was never Emmett's dream.

Instead of creating tension between us by talking more about Mom and Dad, I cut to the chase.

"Emmy-bear, I need your help."

 **{=TR=}**

 **Edward POV**

I threw my pen at the wall in frustration when I realized that there was no way I could finish my homework tonight. My thoughts were too messed up and continued to distract me, and the letters on the paper only transformed into the words that my parents, not to mention my sister, had thrown at me.

Alice and I had always been close while we grew up, and I loved her so much I didn't doubt I would do almost anything for her, but this move had driven a wedge between us. We seemed to always be in a disagreement recently.

She couldn't understand why I didn't want to move, even though she wasn't against Bella in the same way as our dad, she didn't know the depth of my feelings for her.

Being very mature and realistic for her mere fourteen years, she thought that Bella and I were too young to know that we would spend our lives together.

I didn't understand why _she_ wanted to move. How could she want to uproot her entire life in America, leave her friends, just because of the possibility to explore French fashion? It made no sense.

Still, despite our so-called "falling out," she would be one of the people I would miss the most when Bella and I left.

A knock on the door brought me out of my thoughts. "It's open," I said, and Mom took a step inside my room but remained by the door with her hand on the handle.

She was dressed in a ruffled, deep purple blouse and a black skirt, an outfit she deemed proper for going out.

"We're heading into town for lunch. Do you want to join?" She was looking at me with a pleading expression, but I couldn't find it in me to care that she was remorseful over the situation. It was because of her that it was the way it was. She could have easily turned the job down.

"I'd rather not," I replied shortly.

"Edward, please, I—"

"I have homework to do. When will you come back?"

She sighed. "Around four. I'll see you later, then." She quietly left and closed the door.

When I heard Dad's car pull out of the driveway, I had to fight the urge to scream and punch something. I _loathed_ being at home with my family, these days. Mom might feel remorseful for how our relationship had developed, but she was still set on moving. She did not leave it open for discussion that we should stay here, at least until I'd finished high school. When I went off to college, they could move as much as they wanted, for all I cared.

I guess that was the difference between Mom and Dad, though. That she actually felt guilty on some level. Dad didn't. He never felt guilty for anything he did if he thought it was right, no matter the consequences that came from the action.

Our relationship has always been strained, maybe because he'd never wanted children. He only humored Mom because he loved her, but he was not parent material. He either tried to control our every move, like he did with me, or he spoiled us rotten, like he did Alice. There was never anything in between with that man.

When I was in middle school, a couple of friends of mine decided to start a band. Since I was decent on acoustic guitar, I'd wanted to join. Mom encouraged it, delighted that I'd found something I wanted to do in my free time, but Dad was completely against it. He said music was for "lazy and unintelligent people" because they couldn't get a job.

I knew that wasn't the entire truth. There was something else underneath the surface that simmered and just waited, but he never told me anything different.

He wanted me to be a scholar like himself, but I didn't want that. I wanted to live my own life; preferably, away from him.

My cell vibrated on my desk, alerting me to a new text message. It was from Jason, one of my best friends.

 _Hey, man! What's up?_

 _ **Nothing much. I'm bored and pissed, but that's nothing new.**_

 _Is it your old man again? You had a fight?_

I smiled, despite my frustration. Jason knew me almost as well as Bella. He could always tell when I'd had a fight with Dad, which was at least a few times a week.

 _ **Not really. It's just this whole thing about Paris.**_

Jason already knew about the move, he was the first I told, after Bella, but he had no idea about our plans to run away together. I wasn't planning on telling him, either. I knew it would hurt him, but the fewer people who knew, the better

 _Yeah, it totally sucks, man! Want to come over and shoot some pool?_

I didn't even have to think about it. I wouldn't be able to get any more homework done anyway.

 _ **Definitely! I'll be over in a few.**_

I made sure I had all of my things before I went outside to my car.

Metallica blared through the speakers when I revved the engine and pulled away from the house. I always listened to their music when I was angry. I found it relieving, kind of like standing on a huge mountain and screaming at the top of my lungs.

Jay's mom opened the door when I knocked. She didn't have to tell me where he was because I could hear the music in the basement, so after saying hello to her, I headed downstairs.

Jason was racking up the balls when I reached the bottom. He didn't even turn around, he just knew that it was me.

"Hey, Ed! Let's shoot a few before we go into the touchy-feely part of the night, shall we?"

"Sure, but let's skip the touchy part, Jay. I like you, but I have a girlfriend," I teased him, and he turned his head to look at me with raised eyebrows and a grin.

"And here I thought you would be all blue and down when you came here." He finished with the balls and I grabbed a cue from their rack on the wall.

"Nah Fighting with my parents is nothing new, anymore," I said with a shrug.

"I guess. Still, all this shit about you moving to Paris … that's just wrong. They should have considered what you wanted, too."

I leaned over the pool table and broke the balls. The two-ball went straight into the side pocket to my right. "As if they care what I want. If Dad had gotten his way, I would have been sent to military school when I was ten. He sees this as the best way to get me away from all the 'bad influence' around here."

"The bad influence would be me, the guys, and Bella?"

I nodded. "Exactly."

Jay shook his head and leaned on his cue. "We all know your dad hates us, Ed, but do you really think that's the only reason he has? To move all the way to Paris just to get you away from us seems a bit extreme, even for your old man."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "It's my dad you're talking about. Extreme _is_ his middle name."

Jay chuckled. "Yeah, I guess you're right. What does Bella say about all of this?"

I sighed. "She hates it, but there's nothing we can do. If we were eighteen, things would have be different, though."

I hated to lie to Jason. It made a bitter taste erupt on my tongue, but I did it only because I had to. It wasn't that I didn't trust him, but anyone could slip. If he knew, it was a bigger chance that Bella and I would be found after we'd left.

"That sucks."

"It sure does," I agreed with a sigh.

* * *

 **A/N:** If you want to read more stories from us ladies, you can always visit our individual author pages.

MarieCarro just started publishing a new mystery fic called The Mystery of El Jardín.

https : (double slash) .net (Slash) s (slash) 12599653 (slash) 1 (slash) The-Mystery-of-El-Jard % C3 % ADn

If you'd like to try and venture away from Twilight fanfiction, cloemarrie writes for other fandoms as well, such as Vampire Diaries, Agents of Shield and Supernatural!

https : (double slash) .net (slash) u (slash) 3498345 (slash) cloemarrie


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** We're back with another chapter, right on schedule! We hope you all have had a wonderful week and have been waiting with anticipation for the next part of this story! :-D

We can give you a little hint… things are getting into gear now, guys!

So let's get this bad boy going!

* * *

 **{Chapter 4}**

 **Bella POV**

I couldn't stop biting on my thumbnail as I sat in my car and waited for Edward by our spot at the lake where my dad always fished.

I really hoped everything had gone well and that the owner of the vehicle we wanted to buy didn't turn him away because of his age. We really needed this, as it would be our only way out of the city without being recognized. Since Edward's dad was a big shot in his field and my dad was one of the honorable police officers of the city, both Edward and I were well-known, as were our cars. It would be impossible for us to just drive away.

I heard a loud, rumbling engine coming up on the road, and I cowered in my seat so that I wouldn't be visible in case it was someone I knew.

When a rusty, white truck turned into our spot and I saw that it was Edward behind the wheel in my rearview mirror, I breathed a sigh of relief and straightened out before exiting my car. He was grinning widely at me and I ran the last steps and threw myself into his arms.

"How did it go? Did he seem suspicious?" I asked into his neck.

"Not at all. He said he wanted to get rid of it since his wife thought it was a piece of crap, but it runs great." Edward let go of me and placed me back on the ground. "I don't think it will take us far, but at least out of the state. I used Alice's card so Dad won't see any strange transactions from my account."

An uneasy feeling that I often felt whenever Edward talked about his dad took a hold of me. I couldn't understand why Mr. Cullen felt it necessary to control Edward's every move. He had never done anything to deserve that kind of treatment, at least not that I knew of, and I was pretty sure I knew almost everything there was to know about Edward.

Edward must have seen the sadness in my eyes because he placed his hand underneath my chin and made me look at him. "Hey, what's wrong? I promise you that by the time he makes the connection, we'll be miles away."

I shook my head and a few traitorous tears fell from the corners of my eyes. "I'm not worried about that. I'm sure you've bought a great car," I reassured him with a shaky voice. "I just hate that your dad has driven us to the point where we feel this is the only way."

"This was all your idea, remember?"

"I know, but that man has been crawling underneath your skin for some time now. I'm quite positive that had I not suggested this, you would have eventually."

Edward released me and looked out over the lake. I was afraid that I had stepped over some invisible line, but I should have known that Edward did not keep any secrets from me. "I don't know what the deal with my father is, but frankly I don't care anymore. I might have before when I was younger, but all of that is his problem now." He looked back at me and his eyes held nothing but love for me. He tenderly cupped my face with both of his hands. "I have everything I need right here."

When I began to cry again, he leaned forward and kissed my tears away. "I love you so much, Edward."

He touched his lips against mine and whispered, "I love you more," so that our breaths mixed together between us.

It was moments like these when I could just ignore everything that was said behind our backs by our parents, his sister, and even some of our friends. None of them believed that Edward and I would last. We were only teenage sweethearts and as soon as we were separated, by time or distance, we would forget and move on.

They couldn't understand how deep the love we held for each other ran in our bodies. It had become a part of our biological structure, and neither of us would survive without the other. It might sound a bit melodramatic, but that was how it felt.

Eventually, when I had calmed down, Edward showed me everything that I needed to know about the truck, but mostly how to drive it. My own car was an automatic while the truck had a gear shift, which I had never used, so I got a crash course in case I would have to drive some of the way.

When the sun started to set, Edward and I sat next to each other on the beach and gazed out over the water that reflected the red-orange glow beautifully. I leaned my head on his shoulder and simply enjoyed the moment for a second.

"Mom came home with boxes today," Edward said after a minute of silence.

I straightened out my position and looked at his profile. "I thought the move was planned in November. That's two months away."

He shrugged. "Well, you know my mom. She can't control herself when she's excited about something, and she said that it was better to get started now since we have so much to pack."

I didn't reply. Edward didn't need me to because he knew what I was thinking. Everyone was happy about the move except for us. However, if Edward's and my plan went as well as we hoped, we would be on our way to Mexico in only ten days.

We had it all planned.

It was going to happen on a Tuesday. We would eat lunch together and then we would get "mysterious" stomach cramps that forced us to visit the nurse. We would ask to be excused for the rest of the day since we must have eaten something bad during lunch.

For the sake of not raising suspicion, we would say goodbye to each other and then drive our separate cars back home in case any of our nosy neighbors would decide to butt in.

I would be able to walk from my house to the beach, which was where we would hide the truck, but Edward was going to take his bicycle since it would take him too long to walk from home.

In the truck, we had hidden wigs that we'd taken from our school's drama department, a set of new clothes for each of us, and sunglasses. With those outfits on, no one would recognize us as we drove out of the city.

This was all just a precaution since we knew of Edward's father's connections. In case anybody he knew would see us, Mr. Cullen would find us in a heartbeat and we would be toast.

We would then drive as far as the truck could take us, and even though neither of us liked it, we had to take the risk and check into a motel to rest before we continued down to Mexico where Emmett was waiting for us.

Emmett and I had been talking several times over the phone now, still without our parents knowing, and each time he said that he couldn't wait to see me again. The only memory he had of me was from when I was still a little girl.

He also said that when we arrived, he was going to introduce me to someone special. I couldn't be sure, but I suspected it was the person whose voice I'd heard in the background of our first conversation.

It had sounded like a woman. Maybe my dear brother had gotten himself a girlfriend, or maybe even a wife. He would turn twenty-five this year after all.

I wondered if he ever went to college.

There was just so much I wanted and needed to know about my brother, and it made me anxious to just get going already. I wanted to get out of this town and away from families and parents who didn't understand.

I was so ready to leave, to just leave it all behind and never look back.

Eventually, Edward and I were going to have to think about what we would do about school, and of course, later on, college, but we could take that further down the road. It would all work out. I had faith that everything would fix itself.

It always had before.

 **{=TR=}**

 **Edward POV**

I could never tell you what happened with the days that led up to the day of me and Bella leaving. It approached so fast, it left me feeling dizzy, and even though we'd gone over the plan so many times I could recite it in my sleep at this point, I still worried.

I was determined, though. It didn't matter that I had a knot the size of California in my stomach, I still could barely contain my excitement.

Not only was I going to spend my life with Bella now, but I would leave my dad and all the fights between us behind.

There were a few times when I worried that he had figured out that I wouldn't be moving with them. He would give me lingering looks with frowned eyebrows and then say things like: "You're alright there, son? You look a little tense," or "Don't you think it's time to start packing? I can help you if you want."

His concern and offerings unsettled me. We had never had a good relationship, so it was obvious he suspected something, or he wouldn't have acted the way he did.

I was brought out of my thoughts when my phone began vibrating. The caller ID told me that it was Bella, and I smiled as I answered it.

"Hi, Baby!"

"Hi, yourself," she replied and giggled. The sound was music to my ears. "What are you doing?"

"What I'm always doing at this time of day; thinking of you." My smile widened into a grin. "What about you?" I asked.

"Nothing," she said quietly, and then it was quiet for a few seconds. "I'm nervous about tomorrow."

I sighed. "Me, too, but everything will be fine, Bella. Our plan is waterproof," I reassured her.

"I'm not worried about the plan," she said and I could see in front of me how she shook her head. "It's just insane that this is my last night with my family. I wish I could say goodbye to them properly, but I know it's not possible."

The knot in my stomach tightened. I knew how bittersweet this was for Bella. She didn't want to leave her family without a word, but she was so excited to go see Emmett, and she knew that she would have probably never gotten in contact with him again if it weren't for us running away.

I hated that my family's selfish choices had brought us to this. "I'm sorry, baby. If this wasn't for my family, then maybe—"

"Don't say that. As you said, this was my idea, and I'm going to have to live with the consequences, but they're worth it if I get to be with you."

I exhaled with relief. "I love you," I said, and I could hear her content sigh in my ear.

"I love you, too. I better get some sleep now."

The clock was almost eleven so I let her go, although reluctantly.

I tossed all over the bed in my sleep that night and nightmares of things that could go wrong the following day haunted me until the sun rose over the trees outside of my window.

I was a bit groggy, and the shadows underneath my eyes revealed how unrestful my night had been.

I woke myself up with a shower, but it did nothing for my stomach which fluttered and flip-flopped all over. I was so nervous I could have thrown up.

Mom was cooking breakfast when I came downstairs, but the smell turned my stomach, so I just grabbed my bag and headed toward the door.

"Aren't you going to eat breakfast?" Mom asked me, and I shook my head.

"I'm not hungry," I said, but it didn't please her.

"At least take an apple with you. You need some nutrition."

I clenched my teeth together but did as she told me anyway and grabbed an apple from the bowl on the counter. Then I went out the door and to my car.

I didn't see Bella before the bell rang, but that didn't surprise me since my first class was Biology and she had Spanish which was on the opposite side of the building. I probably wouldn't see her until lunch, but I sent her a text anyway.

 _ **I'm only a text away if you need me**_

She didn't reply, but I knew she would contact me if it was necessary.

Biology passed quickly, but English droned on. Halfway through the class, Mr. Rowen, my English teacher, started to hand out assignments. He passed me without giving me one, though, and I frowned.

"You have a week to finish your assignments, and there will be oral presentations so I expect you to prepare a few questions for discussions after."

I raised my hand and Mr. Rowen nodded for me to speak.

"I didn't receive an assignment, Mr. Rowen," I said, even though I knew I wouldn't be present to finish it, but he didn't know that and I had to keep up the act.

"I'm sorry, Edward, but I didn't see it as needed with this being your last day and all," he replied, and I froze. I barely noticed how every person in class turned to stare at me. I felt terrified and I really wanted to know how he'd found out about mine and Bella's leaving.

I hadn't told anyone, and I doubted Bella had, either.

I really needed to know who had told him and if the news had reached my father.

"W-what are you talking about, Mr. Rowen? I'm not moving until November."

Mr. Rowen frowned. "That's very peculiar, Edward. We teachers had a meeting with the principal and your parents. They told us that you are moving this very afternoon."

My eyes widened in disbelief. "What?!" I exclaimed.

"You and your sister have already been pulled from the school's system." He shrugged and his face was filled with confusion.

I just sat there and gaped for several seconds, in complete shock of the ugly trick my family had pulled on me, but then my brain finally jumped into action. Bella and I couldn't wait until lunch hour. Alice and I could be pulled from class any second and be forced to go home. We had to leave now if we were going to make it.

"Can I be excused?" I asked Mr. Rowen and he nodded. I collected my things and shoved them into my bag before I left the classroom to find Bella.

She had P.E this hour and so I knew that she wouldn't have her phone on her, but we had to leave this very moment. I couldn't wait until she was done, so I went to the gym and sneaked inside. I didn't want to get caught since I wasn't really allowed in here at the moment.

The class was playing field hockey, and I spotted my girl running after the ball with her team-mates. She wasn't very good at the athletics, but she got credit for trying.

Coach Johnson called for a switch so that the players on the bench could play as well, and I saw my chance when Bella looked up toward the bleachers. I stepped out from the wall I had been hiding behind, and when my girl saw me, she frowned in confusion.

I motioned for her to come to me, and she raised her hand in a gesture that she volunteered to sit out the next ten minutes. She said something to Coach and he nodded, so she left her stick on the floor and started toward me.

"Edward, what are you doing here?" she asked. Her hair was up in a high ponytail and her face was shiny with sweat, but she was still the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen.

"We have to leave _now._ We can't wait for lunch. Do you think you can get away?"

"What? Why do we have to leave now?" Her eyes were wide and her eyes were full of questions.

I shook my head. "Not here. I'll tell you in the car. Can you get Coach to excuse you?"

She swallowed thickly before nodding.

"Okay, I'll wait for you in the car. Hurry as much as you can," I said and gave her a quick kiss before I turned around and headed outside.

The parking lot was empty, but I still looked around with every step I took to make sure no one saw me. This was definitely not how Bella and I had planned it, and it made me even more nervous. I didn't like when things didn't go as I wanted it.

My fingers were drumming against the steering wheel, a sure indication of my impatience, but I could see Bella approaching in my rearview mirror, so I tried to calm down. So far, so good.

"You have to tell me what is going on right now," she demanded before her door was even closed, but I didn't answer her before I had started the car and was leaving the school behind us.

"My parents lied to me," I said with my eyes glued to the road. "We're not moving in November. We're moving today. I couldn't risk waiting for lunch."

I could see that Bella was gaping at me from my peripheral vision, and I chanced a look at her. Her eyes were wide with fear.

"Edward, do you think they know?"

"I don't see how they can know, but it's the only explanation I have as to why they would hurry up the move."

She nodded and bit down on her bottom lip. It was something she always did when she worried.

"Hey, it'll be alright. We're ahead of them. We'll be on the road in less than an hour," I said and moved my right hand to her knee. She instantly relaxed and tried a smile for me. "That's my girl."

We reached the lake and I parked my car on the side of the road. It would be difficult separating from it. I loved that car, but it was a necessity.

Bella was already pulling out our disguises from the cabin of the pickup, but when I took off my shirt and started to unbuckle my belt, she cleared her throat.

I looked up at her and saw that she was blushing. Her eyes were averted as she tried to look away from my bare chest.

"Could you change on the other side of the truck?" she asked quietly and fingered the hem of her own shirt. The small sliver of skin that was revealed made me feel very warm, and I cleared my own throat.

"Uh, yeah. Of course." I swallowed the saliva in my mouth and grabbed my clothes to walk around to the other side.

I was just putting on my black wig, it had bangs and a haircut that I would never consider for myself when Bella informed me that she was done. She stepped around the truck and my eyes widened. I barely recognized her in her shoulder-length blonde wig. The sunglasses made it impossible to see who she really was.

"Let's do this," she said, and I opened the door to the driver's side. Our small bags were already in the back of the truck, so once Bella was properly strapped in, I started the coughing engine and pulled out on the road.

It was definitely a bittersweet feeling when we passed our neighborhoods and then the "Welcome Back" sign that told us we had passed the city limits. Chicago had been all we'd known for our entire lives, and now we were leaving it all behind.

I saw how Bella wiped one finger underneath her sunglasses and I knew she was crying, but I didn't comment on it. She was giving up on so much more than I was because even though her parents didn't understand our relationship, she loved them and was very close to them.

I knew that she would miss them, and I would never keep her from grieving.

I simply took her hand in mine and squeezed to show her my support.

About two hours later, we reached a town called Champaign, and we stopped shortly for gas and some food. I never ate that apple and neither of us had eaten lunch so we were quite hungry.

While Bella was inside paying for the gas and food, my phone started to ring. It was my dad and I contemplated letting it go to voicemail, but it would only make him suspicious, so I pressed the green button and placed the phone by my ear.

"Hey, Dad, what's up?" I answered in a tone I hoped was casual.

"Why aren't you in school?" he asked with a stern voice.

I froze. I knew that he would find out, but I had hoped we would have at least passed the state limits when that happened. Not when we were only two hours away from home.

"Edward, I asked you a question. Why aren't you in school?" he repeated. He was very angry, that much was evident from his tone.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, going for the whole being ignorant motion.

"Don't play stupid with me, son! Your sister called us and said that you weren't at lunch. No one's seen you since second period, so where the hell are you?" The words were coming through clenched teeth by that point, but I simply rolled my eyes at it.

"Why didn't you tell me we were moving today?" I counter asked, my voice laced with venom.

"That's between your mom and me," he snapped. "You better tell me where you are this goddamn second, or so help me, Edward, I will—"

"You'll what?" I challenged. He had no idea where I was, so his words were nothing more than empty threats.

My challenge was met with silence, and I chuckled at that. "Didn't think so. Goodbye, Dad." I hung up and at that exact moment, Bella came out with a bag of food and snacks.

When she reached the truck I asked for her phone.

"You have that new phone you bought with Emmett's money?" I asked and took her phone from her.

"Yes, it's in my bag."

I went to the nearest trash can and threw both phones away. It caused Bella to gasp.

"That phone will be the only one we use from now on," I said. "Dad knows we've left and the signal from our phones will make it possible to track us."

We climbed into the truck again and drove away from the gas station.

"How do you know they can track us through our phones?" Bella asked when we'd been driving for a few minutes.

I smiled in her direction. "You know I like watching CSI."

Bella laughed and shook her head at me.

"Why don't you use that phone and give your brother a call. Let him know that we are on the way," I suggested.

She immediately dug through her bag and grabbed the phone. When she dialed Emmett's number, I focused back on the road.

* * *

 **A/N:** And they're off!

Let me ask you, what do you think of our teenagers way of thinking? How well are they at covering their tracks and what do you think Carlisle will do now?

Okay, so since FFn won't allow links in uploaded document, we're just going to stick with the name of the story as well as the author's penname and you can also find our recs in our favorite stories section! :-D

Firstly, some self-pimping of MarieCarro!

The Mystery of El Jardín. Some people have said that it reminds them of the tv-show Lost, so if you liked that show, why not check out the story and see what you think ;-)

Here's the summary for you: Ten lucky college kids receive the chance to vacation for one week at a luxury resort on a private island in the Caribbean when they win a random draw contest held at their school. However, it becomes apparent quickly that this vacation will stay with them all forever. ExB

And we have a rec from our very own beta and wonderful friend, Belynda aka SarcasticBimbo!

The Age of Innocence by pattyrose

Summary: On the eve of the Second World War, young Isabella has been taken from all she knows and is now stepdaughter to one of the richest men in America. Spending her summers in Washington State, she's unaware that this is where she & a young boy will find their fate, where childhood friendship will mature into the fiercest love: a love that must endure the end of innocence. Rated M. E&B.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN:** Howdy folks! We are sooo happy that you all have enjoyed our story so far. You guys and your reviews are amazing. All your questions will be answered in due time...we don't give spoilers ;-)

* * *

 **{Chapter 5}**

 **Bella POV**

We had been on the road for almost seven hours when the sign that said "Welcome to St. Louis" grew in size in front of us. It was dusk, the clock had passed five, but I was already so ready to sleep.

My butt was aching after sitting still for so long, and it felt as if my eyes were filled with sand.

Those first three hours to Champaign had been alright. Edward and I had kept up conversation and talked about what we hoped our future held for us now, and when we drove from the gas station, we kept our spirits up by playing those car games that you enjoyed as a child, but when we passed Mattoon, the conversations died, and the games became boring.

The only sound in the cabin now was the radio, and the silence between me and Edward wasn't exactly comfortable. We wanted to speak with each other, but neither of us knew what to say, and it caused a tension in the truck that made me wish I could jump out of the vehicle.

We had already planned beforehand that we would stop in St. Louis and spend the night there, but we would have reached that destination a lot quicker if we had a better car. The truck slowed us down like you wouldn't believe. A journey that shouldn't have taken us more than five hours at the most had taken us seven with a small break included.

I just hoped that we could find a vacant room at a motel or something so that we could rest. I needed to get out and stretch my back and legs, and my butt definitely needed a break. I also hoped that once we stopped, the tension between me and Edward would ease up a bit. I had never thought that I would feel this way in Edward's company. It was always so easy to talk to each other before, and we could stay silent for long periods of time, but this was different somehow, even though I couldn't understand why.

I inhaled and opened my mouth to ask Edward if he knew of a motel here, but I changed my mind when I realized that Edward knew as much of St. Louis as I did, so I closed it again.

Edward had heard my inhale, though. "What?" he asked me, and the sound of his voice over the low buzz of the radio caused my heart to beat faster, and not in the his-voice-made-my-heart-skip-a-beat kind of way. It was more as if I was nervous because I had to talk to him now.

"Nothing," I replied quietly.

During normal circumstances, Edward would have pressed until I gave him a proper answer, but now he simply accepted it and nodded.

We drove around for another fifteen minutes as we searched for somewhere to sleep, but the result was not pleasing to the eye.

The rows of red doors and the almost vacated parking lot screamed hooker nest. Not that I had ever seen one in real life, but it looked exactly like it did on TV, and the sign in the window of the office that said "Rent by the hour or night" pretty much told me what I needed to know.

Edward saw my slightly disgusted expression and shrugged apologetically. "We could drive somewhere else, but I'm pretty tired."

I turned my head toward him and took notice of his worn expression, but I knew that if I asked him, he wouldn't hesitate in trying to find another place even though he was beat, so I shook my head. "No, this will do. It's only for one night, right?" I said with a reassuring smile. I wasn't looking forward to sleeping in one of the beds since you couldn't be sure when they had been properly cleaned the last time, but I could stand it for a few hours.

Edward's smile was grateful and I couldn't keep myself from leaning toward him and give him a light kiss. "If you unload the bags, I'll get us a room."

He nodded, and we exited the car. I kept a strong grip on my purse as I crossed the lot and made my way toward the office. I was slightly paranoid and quite afraid that a drug addict or a prostitute would burst out from one of the doors and take it from me.

It was probably an irrational fear, but paranoia had that effect on you.

I wanted to wrinkle my nose at the stench of sweat and old garbage that entered my nose when I stepped inside the office, but the scraggly and skinny man behind the desk turned his head toward me when the bell above the door announced my entrance.

A small TV mounted on the wall played some soap opera from the nineties, and I felt the urge to scratch myself as if there was something crawling underneath my clothes.

It all just looked so cheap and disgusting.

I made eye contact with the man and he raised his eyebrow in question without uttering a word. When I didn't say anything, he rolled his eyes.

He sighed and glared tiredly at me. "What can I help you with?" he asked with a sarcastic smile.

"Uhm, I would like to rent a room," I said with a small voice. This man made me feel my age, and I was not old or experienced enough to handle men like him.

The man snorted. "Yeah, I figured that much. What kind?"

I felt confused. I didn't understand what he was referring to. "Excuse me?"

"What kind of room? Are you on the hour or do you charge for nights?" he winked at me and I wanted to throw up. I felt quite offended that he obviously thought I was a prostitute, but I figured that most of his female customers were exactly that, so I didn't correct him. Mostly because I didn't dare.

"It's only for tonight," I said and directed my eyes toward the floor when the man's smirk grew into a grin. I wished Edward was with me. He would have told the man off and I wouldn't have felt so uncomfortable.

"That'll be forty-five, then."

I knew that since the man thought I was a whore, he expected me to pay with cash, and that was what I had planned at first, but I wanted to put him in his place, so I dug up my wallet from my purse and took out my card.

"Do you take cards?" I asked with more confidence in my voice then I felt I had.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Yeah, if it's valid," he challenged, and I wondered how many he'd come across that had tried to pay with stolen cards or whatnot. I guess I couldn't blame him for acting the way he did. His customers were probably shadier than he was.

I held up my card and he eyed it suspiciously. "Do you have an ID?" he asked, and I presented it to him, even though I wasn't feeling so confident anymore. What if he refused to rent me a room when he saw that I was underage?

He didn't comment on my age, he simply took my card and swiped it, and when it came through, he threw one last glance at me before he threw a key down on the desk between us and settled back in his chair. "Room twenty-nine," he called at me when I took the key and went outside.

The fresh air hit my face, and I inhaled deeply, feeling relief to be out of the small, stinky room.

Edward looked up from where he was leaning against the truck, our bags by his feet, and I held up the key, showing him that I had a room. We exchanged a smile, and he threw his arm around my shoulders and led me toward the red door with the number twenty-nine on it.

 **{=TR=}**

 **Edward POV**

I was so tired after having been on the road for so long and I barely registered the chipped paint on the red door. All I wanted and longed for was a bed in which I could be unconscious in for a few hours.

However, when Bella opened the door, both of us froze on the threshold.

The room was a mess, the double bed was disgusting with mysterious stains, and the couch against the wall had stuffing coming out of it. The floor was dirty and the tapestry had fallen off the walls and collected into piles on the floor.

The smell was even worse. It was old and stale; a hint of body odor and it absolutely reeked of booze and cigarettes. I felt the urge to gag and I began to regret asking Bella to endure one night because this place gave me the creeps. It looked exactly like one of those motel rooms on CSI where a crime had recently been committed, and I almost expected Gil Grissom to walk out of the bathroom with his equipment.

I dropped our bags just inside the door, but Bella immediately took them and placed them on the couch instead. I didn't comment on it, too tired for any kind of argument, so instead I sat down on the creaky mattress.

"I wonder when they cleaned in here the last time," I mumbled to myself, but Bella heard it.

"You wanted to stay, and you got what you asked for, so shut it," she retorted irritably, but she immediately slapped her hand over her mouth. "Shit, I'm sorry, Edward! I don't know why I said that."

I shook my head and started to take off my shoes. "No, you're right. I wanted to stay, so I shouldn't complain."

Bella turned her back to me and dragged her hands through her long, dark locks. "What's going on with us?" she mumbled.

"What do you mean?" I asked and took off my jacket.

Bella inhaled deeply and walked up to me until I had to tilt my head back to look her in the eyes. "This isn't what I hoped it would be," she said, and a twinge of fear struck my heart. I was so afraid that she would change her mind and want to go back to Chicago. Before I could let my fear grow, though, she continued. "Baby, I don't want us to talk to each other this way. I want us to be the same even though we've left Chicago."

I nodded, and then I stood up and kissed her.

It was still early, but we were both very tired, so the only thing we felt like doing was to go to sleep.

Feeling too scared of what could possibly reside in the bed we slept above the covers with our clothes still on, wrapped in each other's arms.

Early the next morning, there was a violent banging on the door that startled us awake. We looked at each other, disoriented and confused until we heard Charlie Swan's voice through the door.

" _Isabella Marie Swan! I know you're in there! You better open up this goddamn door or I will break it down!"_

We scrambled out of the bed and stared at the door for a second. Bella was trembling with fear, frozen at the spot.

"Where's the package that Emmett gave you?" I stage-whispered to her, but since she was unable to speak, she only pointed toward the small backpack on the couch. I quickly grabbed it, pulled on my shoes without tying the laces, and grabbed Bella's hand after making sure she had her shoes as well.

With the banging and Charlie's outrageous screams still ringing through the room, I dragged Bella into the bathroom and locked the door. I could hear that Charlie had given up on knocking and was now shoving what I assumed to be his shoulder against the wooden door. I doubted it would hold against him very long, and I hoped the locked bathroom door would delay him just enough for us to escape.

I pushed the small bathroom window open and helped Bella to climb outside. I gave her the backpack and told her to start running before I climbed through it myself, but my shirt got caught on the lock on my way down. I couldn't reach it from my position, and my heart began to beat twice as fast when I heard the unmistakable sound of breaking wood as Charlie came through the front door.

I knew that he would hear me if I made a sound, but Bella was too far away to hear me if I whispered, and I needed her help. I inhaled deeply and really hoped that the lock on the bathroom door wasn't too weak.

"Bella!" I yelled, and she immediately turned around. When she saw my predicament, she dropped the backpack and ran straight back to me.

She had to rip the shirt in order to release me, but I didn't care when the door to the bathroom broke down as well and Charlie came through with a furious expression on his face.

Bella and I started to run as fast as we could with Charlie yelling at us through the window, and our only luck was that it was too small for him to climb through.

"Isabella, come straight back here, young lady! Do you hear me!? That's an _order_!"

We ignored him and kept on running for a long time, eventually ending up on the side of a road. I had no idea where the road led, but I felt that we were safe enough to slow down and breathe for a few seconds. We needed to collect our thoughts and figure out exactly how Charlie found us when we'd been so careful.

We also had to find out what we were going to do now.

We couldn't go back and get the truck, and we had left most of our things behind at the motel, including Bella's purse where we'd had our wallets and ID's. It was just pure luck that Bella had the phone in her pocket, so we would still be able to contact Emmett at least, but we didn't have the charger, so we had to be careful with the battery.

"How the hell did he find us?" I asked out loud, not really expecting to get an answer. "We've been so fucking careful. We haven't left any traces, so how did he know where we were?"

There was a minute of silence as we both thought about it, and then I heard Bella gasp. I looked over at her and saw that she was crying. I immediately took her into my arms and placed my chin on top of her head.

"It's okay, baby! Sshh, it's over now … it's over," I told her reassuringly over and over, but she was shaking her head,

"No, no, you don't understand, Edward," she sniffled and stepped out of my arms. "It's my fault. He found us because I made a _stupid_ mistake!"

I reached for her but she flinched away. "What do you mean?" I asked. I had no clue whatsoever what she was talking about. What mistake? I had been with her the entire time and I hadn't noticed any sort of mistake.

"I didn't think, and I'm sorry, but I felt so angry, and offended, and I just wanted to show … you know put him in his place. Prove him wrong or something," she started blubbering and nothing made any sense to me.

"Baby, please, will you slow down. I don't understand what you're talking about."

I don't know if it was something I said, or if it was the stress over what had just happened, but Bella completely snapped in front of me. " _I_ brought my dad to us!" she screamed in my face. "It was _me_! I fucking did that when I paid for that filthy ass room with my stupid fucking card!"

It took a few seconds for that to sink in, but when it did, I felt my own anger rise to the surface. I couldn't believe how she could have been so stupid!

"You _paid_ with your _card_? Why? Why did you do that?"

"I don't know!"

I pinched the bridge of my nose out of frustration and sighed heavily. "I should have gone in there with you," I mumbled out. "No, I should have gone in there myself instead of sending you in there, and then all of this would never have happened."

"Thanks a lot," Bella replied hoarsely and glared at me with red-rimmed eyes. "That shows how much trust you put in me. I made a _mistake_ , alright! It could have happened to you, too, you know!"

"But it didn't," I retorted.

Bella looked away from me and then said the words that caused me to snap out of whatever madness that had caught us both in its claws. "I shouldn't have come with you. I should've let you go to Europe with your family."

My scowl softened, and I stepped up to Bella so that our bodies were almost completely flush with each other. I trapped her face between my hands and completely ignored her attempts to get free.

"Please don't say that. We did this so that we could be together, right? I'm so sorry I said those things, okay? You know I love you, right?"

She stopped fighting me and locked her eyes with mine. It appeared as if she was searching for something, and she must have found it for her own expression softened, and she relaxed in my arms.

She nodded slowly and blinked away the tears that were still in the corners of her eyes. "I love you, too," she said, and I immediately brought her precious face closer to me so that I could kiss her.

We remained that way for a few moments, and when we finally broke apart, we felt calm enough to give each other small smiles. The smiles were an acknowledgment of a mistake easily made and forgiveness of that mistake. I couldn't let something idiotic like that come between me and my girl. We were too solid for that.

I bent down and grabbed the backpack and swung it over my shoulder.

"Let's get out of here," I said and offered her my hand, which she took without hesitation.

* * *

 **A/N:** So, Bella made a huge mistake there that cost them their headstart and our couple is already realizing that life outside of High School isn't quite the same …

How do you think their relationship will be affected now that they've started to fight? Let us know your thoughts!

We have a few recs for you this week as well and as we said in the previous chapter, you can find them in our favorite stories and we'll only write down the title and author here, kay? :-D

First from **cloemarrie** herself:

 **Deal With the Devil**

Twilight/Vampire Diaries crossover with a Rosalie and Klaus pairing!

"Decades ago he sold his soul to the devil for love. Now his time is up and the Devil is knocking on the door."

Next story is written by **Blackdragons29**

 **Wrongly Accused**

Night World Series

"She's framed for murder, He's a Drug Lord, with the odds stacked up against them would they find comfort in the other's arms while in the mist of clearing her name?"

See you all next week!

Xoxo

Marloe


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Hey y'all! Guess what?

You're getting only me this time! And by me, I mean MarieCarro, 'cause cloe is off with her fiancée having a good time, and I … am sitting on my couch alone in my sad single life … *sigh

Naw, I'm just kidding, I'm not sad to be single, but good for cloe to have a few days with her man!

Talking about couples, let's get back to our teenage runaway couple and see what they're up to this week. Charlie almost caught them last week, and they're still in the same town, so hopefully, they won't cross paths again!

 **{Chapter 6}**

 **Bella POV**

"How far south do you think we can get by bus?" I asked when we came across the bus station. My feet were aching after having walked so long, and I was hungry and in need of a bathroom.

All I wanted was to get out of St. Louis and as far away from my dad as possible. He was probably driving around the city in search of us, so we had to get out quickly before he sent our pictures to the news, something that was not beneath my dad.

"Let's find out," Edward said and grabbed my hand. We walked together into the station and looked at the board of departures to decide where we'd go next.

"Look!" I exclaimed and pointed at one of the destinations. "There's a bus going to Memphis, and it's leaving in an hour."

"Yes, let's just hope there are seats available."

We walked up to the desk of the customer service where a nice-looking middle-aged woman sat and typed on a computer.

"Excuse me?" Edward said to gain her attention. She looked up and smiled.

"Yes?"

"Are there any seats available on the bus going to Memphis?"

"Let me check." She started to type again. "Yes, there are, but they're all last minute and those are quite expensive."

"How much?"

"Forty-six per ticket and you need two, correct?" she said with a small smile as if she was talking to children. I didn't like it, but I wasn't going to let her rile me up. The last time I did that, my dad found us.

"We'll take them," Edward said, and the woman looked at him skeptically.

"And how do you want to pay for them, young man?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Cash." The package with the money Emmett had given us was in the backpack so I dug it out and handed it to Edward who fished up a few bills discreetly, but somehow, the lady saw the money anyway.

"Where did you kids get that kind of money?" she exclaimed, and Edward leaned on the desk toward her.

"Look, that's none of your concern. Now, I would appreciate if we could get those tickets."

The woman narrowed her eyes at us, but she gave us our change and tickets anyway, and we hurried out of the customer service as fast as we could. It appeared that everything was going against us today.

I was worried, but Edward tried to calm me down and pulled me toward a small store where we could buy some breakfast.

"She suspected, Edward. We'll be lucky if we're even allowed to board the bus now."

"What would she suspect? She doesn't know us. She doesn't have our identities," he said reassuringly and took a big bite of the sandwich he'd bought.

"Well, who knows what my dad's been doing around town since we left the motel. He found us there at five-thirty and it's nine now. What if he's already asked the local news to put out a broadcast?"

Edward shook his head. "We would have been taken into custody already if that was the case. You're just feeling shaky from this morning, which is understandable, but Bella, we'll be fine. Your dad has no idea where we are."

I was still unable to relax. "You know my dad, Edward. He knows we're in St. Louis and he won't rest until he finds us."

"And by the time he realizes we're not here, we'll be halfway to Nashville, so relax, Baby!"

I couldn't. Dad had his ways, and contacts that I'm sure reached farther than I could ever tell.

I had a huge knot in my stomach when the passengers were allowed on board, but I could breathe a bit easier when the driver looked at our tickets and gestured for us to get on, but I was tense the entire time while bags were loaded.

Not until the engine rumbled and we were on the highway out of St. Louis could I truly exhale and relax. We'd made it this time.

The ride would take almost twelve hours because of a stop in Effingham, so we had quite a lot of time on our hands. Both of us were tired after the night at the motel, so we leaned against each other and soon fell asleep.

I was startled awake hours later when I felt the bus start to slow down.

First, I thought that we were already there, but when I looked out the window, I saw something that made my heart stop.

I think we were just about to cross the Mississippi river, because on the bridge ahead of us, there was what looked like a road block. Two police cars stood on each side, and several uniformed officers were gesturing for the bus to pull over.

I started to push on Edward's shoulder to wake him, and when he did, he looked up at me with tired eyes.

"What is it?"

"We have to get off the bus," I whispered out.

"What?" he asked and straightened out in his seat. "Why?"

"The road's full of officers. They're going to ask for our ID's, Edward. What do you think they'll do when we can't give any to them?"

"Shit!" he exclaimed quietly underneath his breath. "Alright, don't panic. We just need to get off before they have a chance to see us."

"And how exactly are we going to do that without getting noticed? There are fifty people on this bus, Edward, and the driver controls the doors. We're screwed."

Edward got a calculated look on his face. "Not necessarily."

He grabbed our backpack and my hand before he pulled me farther into the bus, toward the back door, and the toilet. Not one of the other passengers paid us any attention, so while he made a show of us using the toilet, we hid in the steep stairs by the back door.

The door had an emergency handle, and when the bus came to a complete stop, Edward turned it, and pushed on the door, making as little sound as possible.

The door opened and the driver immediately spoke in the microphone. "Who opened the back door?" he screamed angrily, which of course gained the officer's attention. They looked toward the back and saw us.

"What are you two doing back there?" one of them asked.

"Bella, run!" Edward cried and pushed me out. He was on my heels and we ran as fast as we could toward the fence by the road.

"Hey! Come back here!" I heard behind me and my heart started to beat twice as fast.

We got over the fence, but I lost my footing and felt how I started to fall down the steep earth hill and toward the bank of the river.

"Bella!" Edward screamed.

I had no idea which side was up and down as I tumbled down. I felt how I scraped up my knees and palms, and when I eventually landed on my back, my breath was knocked out of me.

My vision was blurry, but I saw how Edward followed me down the hill.

"Is your young lady all right? Do you need to get over the river?" was the last thing I heard before everything went black.

 **{=TR=}**

 **Edward POV**

"Bella?!" I called out in panic when I saw her stumble and then fall down the steep hillside toward the stony beach below.

I followed her as fast as I could without losing my own footing, and I heard her groan when I reached her, but she appeared to be unconscious when I crouched down next to her and supported her head with my hand.

I gently touched all over her scalp to make sure she wasn't bleeding and I let out a sigh of relief when my hand came out clean.

I was so focused on making sure she was alright that I didn't hear the man when he approached us.

"Is your young lady all right? Do you need to get over the river?" he asked with concern. He was older, somewhere between sixty and seventy, with wrinkled and weathered skin, glasses, and white hair.

He seemed harmless enough, but I didn't know if I could trust him.

"I think she hit her head. She's unconscious…"

"Hey, boss!" I heard from up by the bridge. "Is that them?"

I turned away from the man and saw two men in suits walk up to the officer that had followed us. Right behind them was Charlie, and I quickly looked away. We had to get away from here as fast as possible, but I didn't know how now that Bella was out.

I looked back at the man who only looked worried about Bella, and I decided that I had no choice but to trust him.

"And we do need to get over the river if you don't mind," I said, and he nodded.

"Okay, if you take her shoulders, I'll take the feet," he replied and crouched down to grab Bella's feet. "My boat is right over here."

" _Isabella!_ Edward, you come back here with my daughter! Do you hear me?!" Charlie bellowed from the bridge, but I didn't even turn.

The man and I gently laid Bella on the floor of his boat and then climbed in ourselves. The engine fired up and we were soon too far out on the river to hear Charlie's screams. I looked at him one last time and saw how the two men in suits were trying to calm him down.

I took a deep breath and turned back around toward our rescuer.

"Thanks for helping us," I said gratefully, and then waited for the string of questions the man surely had for me. It wasn't exactly every day you saw a young couple like Bella and me being chased by the entire police force.

The man simply nodded in reply but didn't say anything. That caused me to frown.

"Uhm, don't you have any questions?" I asked when I couldn't hold it in any longer.

He smiled gently and shook his head. "It's none of my business, young man."

"Edward," I said automatically, and the man's smile widened.

"Pleasure meeting you, Edward. I'm Jacob Black, and I believe I'm right when I dare guess that your young woman is Isabella."

I looked down on Bella's still form and immediately moved down from my seat so that I would sit on the floor with her head in my lap. I held my hand in front of her mouth and felt immense relief when her breath warmed it. As long as she was breathing on her own, she would be fine.

"Is she okay?" Jacob asked, and I heard that concern from earlier again.

"I don't know," I said truthfully because I truly didn't. "She's breathing at least."

"That's good. Is she bleeding?"

I shook my head. "No. She'll probably have a huge bump, though."

We were silent for a while as we continued to cross the river, and noticed how Jacob made sure to steer away from the highway at the same time, making it more difficult for Charlie and the police to follow us.

"I apologize if I'm being forward here, Edward, but when we've crossed the river, where do you plan to go? Do you have somewhere you can rest while your Isabella wakes up and recovers?" Jacob asked, and I realized with a sinking feeling that I didn't know where to go.

My only real option was to sit on the bank and wait until Bella woke up, because even though I was strong, Bella's hundred and ten pounds of deadweight were too much for me to carry very long.

And Bella would need food and water when she woke up, which I could not provide for her on the bank.

I was starting to feel a bit panicked, and Jacob must have seen that because he nodded with a knowing smile.

"Didn't think so. Well, even though I hope your mothers have taught you to not trust strangers, I assure you that I only have good intentions when I now offer you to come home with me. I believe it would be a more comfortable place for Isabella to wake up."

I hesitated, suddenly feeling unsure about Jacob Black. Yes, he had been kind enough to offer us a ride over the river, but extending that kindness by telling us we could come home with him made me suspicious.

What if he was a pedophile or something?

But then again, he had me all alone on the boat out on this river where no one would see anything if he decided to attack me, but he hadn't done so, so I guess I could let that theory go.

Once again, Jacob must have read me, because he started to laugh.

"Look, boy, I am sixty-eight years old with rheumatism and a bad back. Believe me when I say that if I tried anything, you'd be able to take me down with one punch. I just want to help a couple in need and make sure that this young lady here is fine. I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight if I just dropped you off."

When I'd contemplated it for another minute, I surrendered to the fact that his suggestion was our best bet. I needed Bella to recover completely before we continued, and she couldn't do that on the banks of the Mississippi.

"Alright then," I told Jacob, and he smiled again. "Thanks."

"No need to thank me," he replied and waved it away as if what he did for us was nothing.

 **A/N:** Oh yes! We went there!

Jacob is an old man in this story and will not be a threat to our couple, so don't worry about that.

We will see more of him in next week's chapter!

If you have any questions, I'm gonna let cloe answer them when she gets back because I am flying to London tomorrow and won't be back until Tuesday, just in time for the next chapter xD

Have a good one, guys!


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Hey all! I, MarieCarro, am back from London where I had an awesome time with my sister and she came back to Sweden with me for a few days before she flew back to Norway where she lives with her boyfriend.

Since our schedules never sync, I haven't spoken to cloe yet, but I think she's back from her small vaycay with her fiancée. I'm gonna try to catch her as soon as this chap is uploaded.

But let's just jump right into it, shall we!

* * *

 **{Chapter 7}**

 **Bella POV**

I got the feeling that I hadn't taken a proper breath in hours and inhaled sharply. My arms and legs felt heavy and the back of my head was throbbing painfully.

I groaned at the feeling and moved slightly in hopes of waking up my body.

I had no idea of what was going on and tried to remember what had happened.

Fractured images of my dad, running and the feeling of urgency and panic pushed at the forefront of my mind, but it was difficult to puzzle the pieces together.

I could see a rusty truck, practically ready for the junkyard, a shady motel's reception, and Edward looking at me with anger.

I didn't understand the last image. Edward had never looked at me in that way.

I gasped when everything suddenly came back to me, and I quickly sat up from my reclined position on what appeared to be a couch.

Where was I?

I looked around the unfamiliar living room and spotted Edward slumped down in a plush recliner, fast asleep.

It was dark in the room and the clock on the wall read half past three, and even though I shouldn't wake someone up at this hour, I couldn't wait another minute to ask Edward where we were, as feelings of panic had started to creep in on me.

"Edward?" I stage-whispered, but he didn't react. I tried again and this time he stirred, but he was still sleeping.

I knew I could have just gone off the couch and shaken him, but I had a strange reluctance of leaving it and put my feet on the floor, so instead I continued to call his name.

When his eyes finally fluttered open and he saw that I was awake, he shot up from the chair and kneeled next to me.

"Bella, thank god! Do you have any idea how worried I've been?" His tone was almost as if it was _my_ fault that I hit my head.

I didn't let it get to me, though. I knew it was his concern for me that caused him to use that tone, and his question was obviously rhetorical, so instead I asked my own question.

"Edward, where are we?"

"We're at Jacob's," he replied.

I frowned when he didn't continue. "And who's Jacob?"

Edward shook his head as if to clear it. "Sorry! I forgot you didn't know. Jacob Black helped us over the river and offered for us to stay here until you felt better."

"And you trusted him?" I asked incredulously.

Edward smiled. "Believe me, baby, when you meet him, you'll see that there is no way that you can't trust him."

I found it difficult to believe that. Ever since Edward and I left Chicago, I'd had major trust issues with everyone we met, so why would this Jacob Black be so different?

"Are you hungry or thirsty?" Edward asked me, and only seconds later, my stomach growled loudly. "I'll fix you something in the kitchen," he said and stood up. I didn't want to be left alone in this strange house, so I got up and followed him.

Edward started to rummage through the fridge and cupboards as if he lived here, but it made me very uncomfortable watching him do it.

"Should we really just take his food like that?" I was stage-whispering again, but Edward just chuckled.

"It's fine. He told me that if you woke up when he wasn't here, we could take whatever we wanted."

That Edward was so comfortable in a stranger's house got me wondering how long we'd actually been here.

"Uhm, Edward, how long was I out for?"

"Roughly fourteen hours. You hit your head on a rock, but lucky enough, you didn't bleed. Had Jacob not been there, your dad would have caught us and I'd be on a plane to Paris by now."

My eyes widened. "My dad was there?"

Edward nodded. "Yes. Together with two men in suits. They kind of looked like FBI or something."

"Oh, god!" I groaned. "I knew he would go overboard like this. How the hell will we ever outrun the FBI?"

"Relax, Bella," Edward reassured me. "It's not for certain that's where they were from. It was only a guess."

I sighed through my nose and accepted the bowl of yogurt that Edward offered, as well as the tall glass of water.

We had been gone for less than a week, but our goal of reaching my brother and Mexico without getting caught was starting to seem like an impossible task.

Edward and I sat down together on the couch while I ate, but as the worrier I always seemed to be, I couldn't stay quiet for long. "Edward, what are we gonna do?"

With an almost annoyed expression and a pass with his hand through his hair, Edward turned his head toward me with a tight-lipped smile. "You have to stop worrying. Charlie was on to us in St. Louis, and yes, he saw us cross the Mississippi, but he has no idea of where we are now. For all he knew, we could have continued on without stopping and be close to Louisiana at this point. As long as we don't make any mistakes from here, we'll be fine."

I knew that Edward was getting annoyed with me, but I couldn't help myself. Every possible negative scenario went through my head at lightning speed, and I always anticipated the worst. I envied Edward there. He was optimistic whereas I was pessimistic; he was carefree while I was anxious. We were complete opposites, but that had worked out fine before, and it had also been what made us so great together while in school because we complimented each other, so I couldn't understand what had suddenly changed.

However, in order to avoid a fight, I relented. "You're right. I'm sorry."

Edward immediately softened and placed his arm around my shoulders. "Hey, I didn't mean to sound so jagged. I just don't see a reason for us to worry. We've fallen off the map, and I know Jacob won't talk to the police."

"How can you be so sure?" I blurted out before I could stop it, and I slapped my hand over my mouth.

"I spent the entire afternoon with the man while you were unconscious, and when I tell you that the man doesn't have one rotten bone in his body, I'm telling the truth."

"But why is he helping us? We're underage and we're runaways. Any other man would have contacted the police and our parents by now. That he hasn't makes him suspicious in my eyes," I said because I needed to get it out.

Edward reached up with his right hand stroked my cheek lovingly with his knuckles. "Baby, Jacob's probably going to tell you this himself, but he told me that what we do isn't any of his business. I didn't trust him at first, either, but when he realized we ran away because we love each other and all we really want is to be together, he told me that nothing should stand in the way for that, not even something stupid as age."

My distrust of Jacob Black receded a bit when I heard that, but I wouldn't be able to let it go completely before I met him myself.

The clock now read twenty minutes past four, and even though I had been "sleeping" for as long as I had, I was exhausted. Edward yawned, too, and we curled up together on the couch, falling asleep in a matter of minutes.

 **{=TR=}**

 **Edward POV**

I really tried not to focus on how many hours Bella had been unconscious when I saw the day fade into night through the window.

The man, Jacob, had been kind enough to allow Bella to lie on his couch and I sat on the recliner next to it so that I would be there for certain when she woke up. So far, she had barely stirred.

Jacob walked into the room with a cup and handed it to me. It was coffee, which I had never tasted before, but I accepted it anyway and sipped on it carefully. I had to really control my grimace when the bitter taste hit my tongue.

I must have failed, though, because Jacob smiled at me, but didn't say anything.

He hadn't asked anything about why Bella and I were being chased by the police, but I could feel it coming and dreaded it.

After a few minutes, Jacob opened his mouth, and I knew that it would happen now.

"Look, boy, I know it's not my business, but it does worry me when a couple of young folks like you and your girl have what looked like the entire police department on your heels."

I sighed and rubbed my eyes with my hand as I tried to collect my thoughts. Jacob hadn't given me any reason not to trust him yet, but I was careful. He was still a stranger.

"That would be because Bella's the daughter of the chief of police where we're from," I said and made sure that I didn't reveal anything important.

"It's a wild guess of mine when I say that he doesn't like that you've taken his daughter on this trip then," Jacob said with a small smile.

I snorted softly. "That would be the understatement of the year."

Jacob was quiet for a while and then asked the million dollar question. "Did you run away from home?"

I looked at the older man through the corner of my eye, and it didn't look as if he was gathering information to pass forward, so I took a leap of faith and decided to tell him.

"Our parents don't want us together. Her father never liked me, but he accepted me as long as I made her happy. My parents think of her as a money hungry wench, but they're all wrong. A couple of months back, my mom dropped the bomb on us and told me that we're moving. Everyone said that we would get over each other eventually and move on, but what Bella and I have isn't a simple high school romance. We love each other and we weren't about to let anything come between us."

"I can understand that," Jacob agreed. "But do you really think running away is the best solution?" I clenched my teeth and glared at him. I should have known that he wouldn't be any different. "Hey now, don't look at me that way," he said. "I'm just asking. Did you consider every possibility before you decided to do this?"

"Yes!" I exclaimed. "There was no other way. My family wasn't just moving to another state, because had that been it, Bella and I could have worked out a long distance relationship until we got to college, but I was moving to Paris. That's too long of a distance for any couple."

Jacob nodded. "Well, that changes everything." He looked at Bella and then back at me. At that exact second, a huge yawn escaped me, and he chuckled. "Get some sleep. We'll talk more in the morning." He got up from his own chair and was about to leave when I stopped him.

"Why are you helping us?"

Jacob stopped in his tracks and turned around. "I knew when I saw you two by the river that you shared something special, and you gave me the answer just now. I can see in your eyes that you really do love your girl. It's rare for people your age to feel a connection that deep with another person, and I believe you should cherish it, not hold it back. I'm not going to lecture you on your decision to leave everything behind for love, and how that's an immature way of thinking because I don't believe it is. Love can hit us at any age, and once you've found it, you shouldn't let it slip through your fingers."

He was about to leave again, but he must have remembered something else. "And if your young lady wakes up tonight, help yourselves to anything in the kitchen."

With those words, he left and I relaxed back into the chair and thought about them until I fell asleep.

 **{=TR=}**

Three days later, we were still at Jacob's, and Bella had finally let go of her suspicions when it came to him, but she still felt anxious to continue on.

I was making us lunch while we discussed this very subject.

"We need to get out of here. We've already been here for too long as it is," Bella said and took a glass of water.

"Jacob said that we could stay as long as we wanted. I was hoping to get on the road at the end of this week," I said, but Bella did not like that suggestion.

"End of this week? That's too long, Edward," she insisted.

"But it will give us time to contact Emmett and figure out where we're going from here." Bella and I were in constant disagreement nowadays. She wanted us to be on our way while I wanted to take it easy and plan everything.

"I want to leave tonight," Bella stated.

"We can leave in a few days."

"Why not tonight?" she asked in a small voice.

"Because we don't have anything we need. No transportation; no idea of which direction to go and it would be dark, so we wouldn't be able to see anything. We would just end up going in a circle," I explained with as much patience as I could muster. "Besides, Jacob told us that he knows someone who can help us get to the next state."

"I might trust Jacob, but we're not going to get into a car with another stranger, even though he's a friend," she said and took a bite of her sandwich.

"Why not? You can get to know him like you did Jacob. What's the difference with this guy?" I was beginning to feel very annoyed with her.

"Because we don't know these people," she snapped and pushed her plate away angrily.

"Damn it, Bella!" I hit my fist into the table when my temper finally became too much. "You are so stubborn! Why can't you see that they just want to help?"

Bella huffed and pushed her chair back violently before storming out of the kitchen. I stood up as well and walked out on the porch to get some air.

Why couldn't she see that getting help would be our best chance? I didn't understand how she was thinking at all.

Jake walked up behind me.

"What's this arguing about?" he asked with concern. "I've never heard you two fight like that before."

I shook my head. "She wants to leave tonight, but I don't think that's a good idea. We need to have a plan and not just leave in the dark."

"Did you tell her about my friend?"

"Yes, but she refuses to listen. She says he's a stranger and we can't trust him," I explained and walked back inside.

I had noticed that first day that Jacob surrounded himself with a lot of things from China and Japan. I didn't know if it was real, but he did have a samurai sword mounted on his living room wall and several what I believed were artifacts from the old empires.

"Edward, she's scared. Her father has already been close to catching you twice. Can you blame her for being distrustful?"

I studied the objects on his shelves and shrugged. "I don't understand how she can believe that you would lead us to a person that would do anything but help us when you've been so kind."

Jacob opened the glass doors to one of his mahogany cabinets and reached inside for something. "Have you ever heard of yin and yang, Edward?"

I frowned at him, feeling confused by the change of subject. "Uhm, yeah, I guess I've heard of it and seen the symbol a few times. Why?"

"Yin and yang is the concept used to describe opposite attraction and how contrary forces are complementary. Like with night and day, the one can't exist without the other, and they both have a part of the other inside them. They lift each other up," he explained and handed me the yin-yang symbol made out of stone.

"Okay…" I said, dragging out the word as I still didn't see the point in this lecture on Chinese philosophy.

"I've watched you and Bella during your stay here, and it's become very clear to me that you are complete opposites of each other. She's anxious while you are calm, but as with yin and yang, you have parts of the other inside you. You have a temper, but Bella remains calm, although annoyed, during a fight."

"So, what you're saying is Bella and I are like yin and yang?" I asked to clarify.

"Exactly. She's the yin to your yang because even though you butt heads, your love is still strong. You have struggled to be together, but you're still here because you can't be apart. Don't let these circumstances destroy what you have. Be yin and yang and make it work," he said and left me alone in the living room.

Jacob was right, of course. Bella and I were as different as night and day, but it had never been a problem before. Our new situation brought out the worst in us because we both felt stressed.

After Jacob told me how Bella was probably thinking, I decided I had to go look for her. We needed to talk because we couldn't continue fighting like this.

I found her in the guest room that Jacob had set up for us after the first night. She was lying on her side, sleeping, and I took a few seconds to go over what I wanted to say to her before I walked inside and gently woke her up.

Her eyes fluttered open, and when she saw me, I could see how much my words from before had hurt her.

"Baby, I'm so sorry for the way I acted before. I know why you're afraid, and I didn't mean to sound so inconsiderate. Please, don't be mad at me."

"I'm sorry, too, Edward. I don't know what's gotten into us since we left Chicago. I always feel like we can't agree on anything, but at the same time, I can't bear the thought of being away from you."

I smiled. "I believe I know what it is," I said. "You're my yin."

Bella looked at me questioningly. "Huh?"

"Yeah, you know, yin and yang. They're always fighting or something, but still complement each other."

"I don't think that's exactly what that is," she said carefully, and I shrugged.

"Whatever, Jacob tells the story better."

She giggled, and then scooted over in the bed so that I could lie down next to her. I did so, and she immediately curled up against my chest.

"I've been thinking," she began. "Maybe we should wait until we've gotten a hold of Emmett. We could at least meet this friend of Jacob's before we make any kind of decision, though, right?"

I kissed the side of her head. She was compromising, and I loved that she was at least considering a different option than her own.

"Of course," I agreed with her and pulled her even tighter to me.

* * *

 **A/N:** I guess Jacob is rather trustworthy, huh ;-) I've always loved the story of yin and yan and it's so adorable how Edward tried to explain it to Bella but he kinda failed at it. So cute!

Who is this friend of Jacob's? Do you think he'll be as trustworthy as Jacob?

Let us know what you think!


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Hi, y'all! It's me, Cloe! The mini vacay was amazing! My fiance and I hardly have time together because of our vigorous schedules *sigh*But when we do get the time we take advantage.

We left off with our couple at old-man Jacob's house and Bella compromising….up next is a Mystery POV, who do you think it is? The answers may be revealed ;)

 **{Chapter 8}**

 **Mystery Pov**

I tried my best to ignore Chief Charlie Swan of the Chicago PD as he paced back and forth in front of my desk and went on and on about how corrupt the Cullen boy was. To say that I was tired of it was an understatement. I'd had to listen to it ever since the man contacted us a week ago, and I was seriously fed up with it.

"Look, Chief Swan, will you please just sit down and focus on what we're trying to do here?" James Turner said from his chair in the corner. "Your daughter won't be found faster because you rage over the guy she eloped with."

I pinched the bridge of my nose and felt the urge to punch James in the face when he said that. I couldn't understand that he always had to put his foot in his mouth.

"If Isabella eloped with that bastard, so help me god—" Chief Swan began a new rant, but my partner Demitri Porter, who'd always been the voice of reason, stopped him.

"Turner is an idiot, Chief, and he didn't mean what he said. No judge or person in Elvis clothes would ever in their right mind legally marry two underage kids, so don't worry about that." He placed his hand on Chief Swan's shoulder and gently steered him toward his chair.

I rubbed my stiff neck and tried to get everything back on track. "The last time we saw them was when they crossed the Mississippi. All runaways usually go to a place where they've felt safe before. Have you ever owned any vacation houses in another state? Do you have any relatives in the south?"

Chief Swan shook his head and suddenly it appeared as if all energy left him. "No. Both mine and Renée's parents are dead and neither of us has any siblings."

"So no cousins or friends? Has Isabella ever participated in a pen-pal project or anything like that?"

He shrugged. "Not that I know of. Ever since she started dating the Cullen boy, he's the only one she's really talked about. I don't know of any other friends."

I wrote this down in my notes and started to wonder if Isabella Swan had been a loner of some kind. They were usually the ones who took to such drastic measures as running away since they never felt they belonged anywhere.

"Do you know of the Cullens properties? Any vacation spots?"

The Chief glared up at me. "You'd better take that up with Mr. Cullen. His son is the reason my baby girl's missing."

I was just about to reply when none other than Carlisle Cullen himself came through the door. "Is it true, Lane?" he asked. "He's been spotted."

I nodded. "Yes, Carlisle. Your son and Chief Swan's daughter were seen crossing the Mississippi three days ago. I called for you immediately; what took you so long?"

Carlisle waved it away. "I had a few things to clear up before I could get on a plane. It's complete chaos at home with the move and everything."

I huffed disapprovingly. I knew Carlisle Cullen from before, and it didn't surprise me that he'd gone forward with the move even though his son was missing. I wondered what his wife had said when he'd made it clear that they would board that plane to France no matter what.

"You're here now at least, and we were just going through possible places they could be heading for. Do you have any houses or relatives in the south, Carlisle?"

"Yeah, we had one in Florida, but it was sold a few months ago. Why?"

"Did Edward like it there?" I asked feeling more alert now that we might have a lead.

Carlisle shook his head. "Not really. He always stayed inside whenever we were there. Complained about the heat and that he was apart from that—" He interrupted himself and glanced at Chief Swan. "From, uh, Isabella." It was obvious he had intended to call her something else.

"What were you about to call my daughter?" Chief Swan asked and stood up. He was taller than Carlisle and looked rather intimidating as he narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose again. I had a feeling that with these two men in the same room, it would take a long time before we got anywhere.

"So, let's send a few guys to the house in Florida. That's probably where they're heading," James said as he rose from his chair and sat down on the edge of my desk so that he was in front of the two pissed of men.

"No, I don't think so," Demitri disagreed. "A guy wouldn't take his girl to a place where he'd been miserable. I think we should keep looking."

I nodded. "So do I, but first, I need a break."

 **{=TR=}**

 **Bella POV**

"You haven't told him about us, have you?" I asked Jacob when he was about to open the door for his friend who stood outside and knocked.

Jacob smiled at me and took my hand in both of his. "Don't worry. I thought you would feel calmer if you got to meet him first."

I nodded and exhaled in relief. Jacob went for the door and Edward placed his arm around my shoulders and made me lean against him. I was so glad that we finally understood each other, to an extent, and he didn't get annoyed when I worried anymore.

Jacob came back with a man younger than himself, but he was at least my dad's age. "Paul, this is Edward and Bella," he introduced us.

We got up from the couch and Edward reached out his hand to shake Paul's. "It's a pleasure to meet you," he said.

Paul smiled. "Likewise, although, I have no idea how a couple of teenagers like you know my old man here."

My eyes widened. "You're Jacob's son?"

Paul turned to me. "I am. Paul Black, at your service." He held out his hand for me to take, and when I accepted, he brought it up and placed a kiss on the back, and I couldn't hold in my giggle.

"Leave the girl alone, Paul," Jacob reprimanded with a smirk. "She's already taken."

Edward immediately tightened his arm around my shoulders and gave Paul a look that pretty much told him to back off. It wouldn't have been any more obvious what Edward was doing if he'd started to piss on me.

It was kind of stupid actually, because while Paul was a handsome man, he was old enough to be my dad, and I wasn't one of those girls who found much older guys attractive in the whole I-want-to-be-with-you kind of way.

Paul let go of my hand and made a surrendering gesture. "My apologies." He smiled even wider. "My dad said that he had visitors who might need my help. My guess is that those visitors are you two."

I thought Edward would immediately jump at the chance and explain to Paul that we needed a ride as far south as he could take us, but he didn't say anything. He just continued to look at Paul.

I didn't feel worried anymore because Paul seemed like a genuine, nice guy, so I talked instead.

"Edward and I are trying to get to Mexico, and your dad said that you could give us a ride a bit of the way."

Paul shrugged. "Not very far. I'm on my way to Little Rock to visit a friend of mine. I guess you could come along that far at least. There's more than enough room in my car," he said, but then it sounded almost as if he wanted to take it back. "What are two kids like yourselves going to do in Mexico, anyway?"

It was obvious that Paul didn't share Jacob's "none of his business" philosophy, and I got the feeling that he wouldn't take us to Little Rock unless we told him why we needed to get to Mexico.

I felt Edward shift and I was pretty sure he was about to tell Paul off, but I hurried to stop him by placing my hand on his chest. "I have family down there. We're going there for a visit."

"Mhm." It was obvious Paul didn't believe what I said, but I didn't care because I hadn't lied. "Well, as I said, you can come along to Little Rock, but after that, you're on your own."

"That will be no problem," I assured. "Thank you so much. Your help means a lot to us."

 **{=TR=}**

 **Edward POV**

We said our goodbyes to Jacob—Bella had tears in her eyes which was rather amusing since she'd been so distrustful of the man in the beginning—and walked outside with Paul.

I wasn't too sold on the guy, he had kind of hit on my girlfriend, after all, but I followed anyway with Bella held close to my side.

Before we reached the car, Paul turned toward us and effectively blocked our path.

"I don't care what kind of trouble you got yourselves into," he said. "I was born back in the day, not yesterday. What's the real reason you are going to Mexico?"

Bella frowned and exchanged a look with me before turning back to Paul. "I told you, I have family there and we are going to visit." Bella sounded rather confused, and I could understand why. The guy in front of us was not the same guy he was inside.

He didn't say anything else; he only narrowed his eyes at us before he climbed into the driver seat of the black SUV. Bella and I exchanged another look and then climbed in the back.

Nothing was said in the car as we drove away and the awkwardness was starting to suffocate me. It didn't get better when we stopped for gas or when we ate, either.

Bella was anxious to talk to her brother, but we couldn't risk Paul overhearing anything.

Once back on the road, the tension was slowly killing us. Paul continued to tap the gear shift and throw glances at us in the rearview mirror.

Bella leaned closer to me and whispered in my ear. "What's wrong with him?"

I shrugged and shook my head, although I was wondering the exact same thing.

"Where're y'all headin'?" he suddenly asked and broke the deafening silence.

I glared at his reflection. "We already told you that," I said, feeling more irritated with the guy by the second.

Paul looked back at the road. "Yes, you did, but now I want to hear the truth." He hadn't raised his voice, it was still in a conversational volume, but I didn't like his attitude, so I snapped.

"We're telling the truth! We have no reason to lie to you!"

He pulled off the road and stopped before turning around in his seat to face us. "Where are you going?"

"We're not lying! How can we prove it?" Bella asked with tears in her eyes.

"Who are you visiting?" Paul asked.

"My uncle and his new wife," Bella blurted out, and I looked at her in shock, but I hurried to cover it up by looking back at Paul.

"Get him on the phone," he said calmly.

"What? Why?" Bella asked, and I could hear that she was beginning to freak out.

"You asked how you could prove it. Get this uncle of yours on the phone, I want to talk to him," Paul explained.

"Fine! Bella, just do it," I said without taking my eyes off Paul. I could feel Bella looking at me and I squeezed her hand, hoping that she understood what I was trying to tell her.

I finally looked at her after a minute. "Call him."

She slowly pulled out the phone and dialed Emmett's number. After a while, he picked up. "Uncle Scott? Hi, it's Bella!" He said something which caused her to giggle. "What do you mean you didn't recognize my voice? We talked a few days ago."

I hadn't talked directly to Emmett yet, but I could hear the bass of his voice through the phone.

"Yeah, we're on the way. We had some car trouble, but we were able to catch a ride with a friend."

I looked over at Paul and I could see that he wasn't as suspicious anymore.

"No, I promise, we're not hitch-hiking. He's a friend, and I called because he wants to talk to you."

I was very impressed with their conversation. Outwardly, nobody could ever question that Bella was, in fact, speaking to an uncle or another type of father figure. She leaned forward and handed the phone to Paul.

"Hello, my name is Paul. Are you Bella's uncle?" he asked and then listened for a few seconds. "I can assure you that the kids aren't hitch-hiking, Mr. Jackson," he said, and I chuckled when I realized that Emmett had truly caught on to what was happening. "Yes, I will. It was a pleasure talking to you."

Paul handed the phone back to Bella and she placed it back to her ear. "See, I told you we weren't hitch-hiking! Why don't you ever believe me?" she said with a smile into the phone. I had never known that Bella was such a good actress.

"Okay, Uncle Scott, I'll talk to you later then," she said and hung up.

"Thank you," Paul said and looked relieved.

"What for?" I asked.

"For being truthful." He smiled. "Not many strangers are."

I just stared at him and worked hard to not let my guilt show on my face.

"You're welcome, Paul. We have no reason to lie," Bella told him seriously, and he started the car again so that we could continue toward Little Rock.

 **A/N:** We apologize for the lateness of this chapter. With our busy daytime jobs and my mini vacay and not being around internet we missed our deadline for last week.

A little treat for y'all to make up for the missing deadline is a TEASER of chapter 9:

Paul observed us with an amused look before speaking up. "My friends happen to own a B&B just outside of town. I was going to sleep there tonight and I'm sure you can too."

"That sounds just fine and dandy," Edward replied sarcastically. "However, I don't think Bella and I can afford to stay at a B&B. Those are usually rather expensive."

My anger rose even further and I pulled on Edward's sleeve hard so that his face would be level with mine. "What's your problem?" I whispered through my teeth. I was just barely keeping my calm at this point.

"I don't like this guy," he answered, and I fought the urge to roll _my_ eyes at him.

"Yeah, you've already established that, but it's not like we have a choice because I'm not sleeping in any kind of gang headquarters tonight."

Edward inhaled and exhaled slowly before gently prying my fingers away from his arm. He straightened up and looked toward Paul in the front. "I'm sorry, Mr. Black, I didn't mean to be so rude about it, but really, I don't think Bella and I can afford to stay with your friends."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Howdy lovelies! It's Cloe again :) I'm so glad you all are enjoying this wondrous tale of ours and coming on this rocky journey with us!

Up next is Bella's point of view, hope all is well with these two!

* * *

 **{Chapter 9}**

 **Bella Pov**

"It's getting dark quickly. Do you have a place to stay while you're here?" Paul looked at us in the rearview mirror and I could see that there was no suspicion there anymore. Now, he was only a man concerned about the two teenagers in the back of his car.

Edward and I exchanged a look and then I shook my head. Edward didn't like Paul, even though he had been nothing but nice to us after the call to "Uncle Scott," so I knew it was up to me to communicate with our driver.

"Not really. I guess we planned on getting a room at a motel or something."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Paul said with another glance at us before he made a lane change to get off the freeway.

I frowned. "Why not?"

"There's a new gang on the streets and my friends told me that they use pretty much all of the motels as their headquarters. Or at least, nobody knows which ones are where they're most active."

"Active in what?" I asked, suddenly feeling scared of leaving the car. Thoughts of drug gangs and human trafficking went through my head.

"No one knows for sure, but there are many rumors. Personally, I believe they're trying to place fear in people so that they can do whatever they want once no one dares to object."

"So what do you suggest?" Edward asked a bit too surly, so I hit him on the arm. "Ow," he complained and looked at me. I tried to tell him to apologize with my eyes, but he didn't catch on. "What?" he asked, and I raised my eyebrows and threw a glance in Paul's way to make it very obvious what I wanted.

Edward finally understood, but he just rolled his eyes, completely refusing my request for an apology. It made me angry because I thought that was a very childish behavior.

Paul observed us with an amused look before speaking up. "My friends happen to own a B&B just outside of town. I was going to sleep there tonight and I'm sure you can, too."

"That sounds just fine and dandy," Edward replied sarcastically. "However, I don't think Bella and I can afford to stay at a B&B. Those are usually rather expensive."

My anger rose even further and I pulled on Edward's sleeve hard so that his face would be level with mine. "What's your problem?" I whispered through my teeth. I was just barely keeping my calm at this point.

"I don't like this guy," he answered, and I fought the urge to roll _my_ eyes at him.

"Yeah, you've already established that, but it's not like we have a choice because I'm not sleeping in any kind of gang headquarters tonight."

Edward inhaled and exhaled slowly before gently prying my fingers away from his arm. He straightened up and looked toward Paul in the front. "I'm sorry, Mr. Black, I didn't mean to be so rude about it, but really, I don't think Bella and I can afford to stay with your friends."

"I wouldn't allow my friends to take a single dime from you, okay? And believe me, Charlotte would never ask for money from two teenagers who need a roof over their heads for just one night."

"It can't hurt to go with you and say hi at least," I said before Edward could open his mouth. Paul smiled and I had to bite my lip so that I wouldn't laugh out loud.

Edward huffed and crossed his arms to show his displeasure. I shook my head at it and leaned back in my seat as well.

Not even twenty minutes later, Paul pulled into the driveway of a traditional looking three-story house. It was white with blue shutters and a well-groomed garden, even though fall was upon us.

"This is so cute!" I exclaimed and both Paul and Edward chuckled.

"Say that to Charlotte and she will adopt you," Paul said and exited the car.

I opened my door to follow, but then I noticed that Edward did not make a move to do the same. I settled into my seat again and frowned at him. "What now?" I asked exasperated.

"Why do you agree with everything he says? Do you have a crush on him or something?" Edward threw at me, and I just stared at him.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Edward retorted and tightened his crossed arms.

"Sit here and sulk then! You can join us when you know how to behave," I said angrily and threw my door open.

"Whatever," I heard him mumble behind me, and I groaned with frustration.

"You know, Edward, sometimes you can be such a baby," I yelled and closed the door with a bang. Paul was standing by the front door, looking anywhere but at us, so I strode up to him and he rang the bell.

"Should I ask?"

"No," I replied shortly and looked up in time to see a woman in her thirties with short brown hair and fashionable clothes open the door.

"Paul Black! Well, it's about damn time you got your ass here. What took you so long?" the woman shot at Paul and he smiled at her with a smile that said he was used to the way she talked.

"Charlotte, this is Bella," he said to introduce us, and Charlotte turned to me with her ice-blue eyes.

"I know you like them young, Paul, but this one looks like she's barely been taught how to fly. I might have to put my foot down this time," she said with a raised eyebrow. I practically choked on my own saliva as I tried to hurriedly explain that it was nothing between me and Paul.

Charlotte saw my struggle and began to laugh. "Oh just relax, darling, I'm pulling your leg. Now, come inside, both of you, and tell me how you and the sulking boy in the car met Ted Danson over here."

"Ted Danson?" I asked, not at all understanding why Charlotte called Paul that.

"It's an in-joke between the three of us. I believe you're too young to understand it anyway," she said and led us to what look like a cozy lounge.

The three of us sat down and Charlotte turned to me. "Tell me everything."

 **{=TR=}**

 **Edward Pov**

I tried to ignore the feeling of discomfort that came over me the instant Bella slammed the car door loudly and then practically ran up to the front door of the house, but it was difficult. I knew I felt that way because I had treated her badly, but at the same time, I was too proud to admit it.

I _did_ believe that she was a bit too friendly with Paul, and it made me feel self-conscious. He was a man after all. He had a job, and money, and probably a house. He was muscular and had that annoyingly bright white smile. He had everything that girls dreamed of, and what did I have?

I had no job; the cash we used was Bella's brother's; we were on the run, and I was just a sixteen-year-old boy from Chicago. I was pale and almost a ginger, which caused me to turn red in the summer, and not the golden-brown complexion that Paul had. I barely had any muscle even though I worked out.

Seriously, why would Bella choose me over someone like Paul?

I sulked for another couple of minutes, but then I felt ashamed of myself.

What the hell was wrong with me?

Bella would never betray me like that. She fucking ran away with me, and left everything behind, just for the sake of us staying together, and I just continued to hurt her over and over again.

I didn't waste another second in the car and hurried up to the house. I knocked and only a few seconds later, a man I didn't recognize opened the door.

"Well, hello there. You must be Edward," he said and smiled.

I understood that Bella had told him my name, and swallowed before nodding. The man was tall with brown hair and ice-blue eyes, and while he looked like a nice guy, the eyes felt like they could freeze my blood to ice.

"C'mon in," he said and stepped aside. "The others are in the living room."

I walked into the room where Bella was sitting on a couch next to a woman that was almost as small as she was. They looked up when I entered and Bella immediately crossed her arms over her chest and her smile fell.

It was obvious she was still mad at me.

"Edward, how nice of you to join us," Paul said in what I believed was an attempt to make a joke, but it only annoyed me. "This is Charlotte and Peter." He gestured toward the woman and the man behind me. "My friends, and the owners of this fantastic B&B."

The woman, Charlotte, laughed at him. "Thank you so much for that kind review, Paul."

"I only speak the truth, madam!"

They laughed again, but I was only looking at Bella, and she wasn't laughing or even looking at me.

I shuffled forward half a step because I suddenly felt very nervous. "Uh, Bella? Could I talk to you for a second?"

She finally turned her head toward me. "What do you want?"

I twisted uncomfortably when I realized everyone was now quiet and looking at me. "Uhm, alone?"

She didn't move. "If you have something to say, you can say it here," she retorted stubbornly.

I looked around the room and decided to just do it. I cleared my throat and straightened my back. I wasn't going to look like the insecure teenager I actually was.

"Bella, I'm sorry that I've acted like a huge jackass to you this week. I can't take it back, but I wish I could. It's just that you mean so much to me, and sometimes I can't help but to get jealous because I don't understand why you'd want to be with someone like me."

I could see how Bella's eyes became blank, before filling with, what I wasn't sure were happy or sad, tears.

It felt strangely liberating to pour my feelings out like that, despite it being in front of three strangers, and I felt that I couldn't stop because I finally felt that I could apologize to Paul, too.

"And Paul, I apologize that I've been so rude to you. You haven't deserved it. I'm sorry."

Paul only nodded and smiled at me without saying a word.

Suddenly, Bella's body collided with mine and her arms wound around my neck. I could feel that her cheek was wet against the side of my throat, but I still wasn't sure what kind of tears she was crying.

She tightened her hold on me even further and then I heard her whisper against my shoulder.

"Sometimes, I feel that I love you so much it actually hurts," she said, and I tightened my hold on her. I didn't want to ever let her go. I only ever felt completely whole when I held her in my arms, and it both scared me _and_ made me happy.

"I like this guy," I heard from behind me and looked over my shoulder at Peter. "He's honest and straightforward. Few kids are these days."

"Tell me about it," Charlotte agreed and stood up from the couch to fetch some tissues when she saw Bella's tear-streaked face after we'd let go of each other. I kept one of my arms around her shoulders, though, and Bella's arm remained around my waist. "The kids in this town are getting out of hand. Especially that ' _gang'_." She placed air-quotes around gang when she said it.

"Is that the same gang you mentioned in the car, Paul?" Bella asked. I saw that she had missed a tear on her cheek and wiped it away with my thumb.

Paul shrugged and turned to Charlotte. "You didn't tell me that the gang was just kids playing tough."

"That's because they're not," Peter interjected. "No matter what Charlotte says. They might be kids, but they're not to play with. They call themselves the Vultures, and so far they've never been caught. Police haven't been able to connect them with any of the crimes going around, but everyone knows it's them."

"What kind of crimes?" I asked. I didn't want to stay in Little Rock for long if it was serious crimes they were talking about.

"Everything from shoplifting to abuse. There are rumors of drugs as well, but I don't believe that."

Paul frowned. "How old are these kids?"

Peter shrugged. "I've heard that the youngest is thirteen and the oldest around twenty, but the police haven't leaked out too much to the public, so nobody's really sure."

I suddenly felt the urge to hide Bella inside of my clothes to protect her. Hiding her would be the only way because I was nowhere near strong enough to protect her if some twenty-something guy would attack.

A smack resounded in the room, and Bella and I flinched and looked toward where Charlotte had smacked Peter on the arm.

"Look at what you've done. Now you've scared them." She turned to us with a soft smile. "Don't listen to this doofus. Come with me, and I'll show you to your room."

Bella and I exchanged a look and then followed Charlotte upstairs.

* * *

 **A/N:** Do you know that it's possible to see the characters over on FB in MarieCarro's Creative Corner? It's in a story album. Why not check it out *wink wink


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Hey guys! I'm sorry I know we missed deadline and that we didn't give you this chapter last week.

Well, all I can say is that both Cloe, myself and our lovely beta has had a lot of things happening in our lives, and when that happens, I guess fanfiction just takes the backseat.

We apologize profusely, and hope you will forgive us!

* * *

 **{Chapter 10}**

 **Bella Pov**

"Okay, here you go," Charlotte said and opened a door to a really cute room. It had its own TV, an en suite bathroom, and self-serving of coffee and tea.

The thing that caused me to frown was the two twin beds on opposite sides of the room.

Charlotte must have seen my reaction because she laughed quietly. "We are under no impression that you two don't share a bed, but this is what we can offer because the other rooms are occupied," she said, and gave Edward the key. "I'll be back in a moment with towels; both of you look to be in need of a serious shower."

It was true, because while we had showered at Jacob's house, we were still wearing the same clothes we'd had the day we left Chicago. I fingered the hem of the dirty shirt I was wearing and then looked toward Edward who looked worse than me. His shirt had been torn on the second day when we ran from the motel, and it was just lucky for him that he had a t-shirt underneath.

Both of us looked homeless, which I guess we technically were.

Edward sat down on one of the beds and sighed in content. "Wow, these beds are really soft," he said and smiled at me.

I smiled back, but before I could sit down on my own bed, Charlotte came back with towels as well as a pile of what looked like new clothes. She placed the towels on my bed and handed me the clothes.

I started to shake my head. "No, we can't accept these," I said, but she wouldn't hear of it.

"Nonsense," she said. "These are clothes we were going to get rid of anyway. They're old clothes of mine and some that Peter's and my son left behind when he started college. No one's going to use them, and therefore, I'm giving them to you."

"Well, thank you. We really appreciate it."

"Don't even mention it." Charlotte turned to exit the room but turned around before the door closed. "Oh, I almost forgot. Breakfast is served between seven and ten. We have a buffet on the first floor next to the kitchen, and you are welcome to eat even though you're not paying."

I almost began crying over Charlotte's kindness, and I wanted to thank her, but I didn't know how.

"Have a good night," she said before leaving and I slumped down on my bed.

"That woman is almost too kind," Edward said and bent down to take off his shoes.

"Yeah. I guess she feels sympathy for us," I replied and looked through the clothes she'd given us. There were two pairs of jeans; a tank top and shirt for me as well as a jacket, and a fresh blue t-shirt, button up shirt, and jacket for Edward.

"Why would she feel sympathy for us? She doesn't know us." It was noticeable that Edward and I had gotten very used to each other during this past week because he removed his shirt and t-shirt in front of me without hesitating. His bare chest still scared me a bit, but it was nothing like the way I had felt the day we left home and we changed clothes on opposite sides of the truck.

"She knows we're on our way to Mexico and that we are on our own. Maybe her maternal instincts kicked in or something," I said and shrugged, but looked up at Edward when the jingling of his belt stopped. He was in the middle of opening up his pants but had stopped mid-action.

"Why does she know that?"

"I told her."

His eyes widened. "You told her? Why?"

I shrugged again because I couldn't understand Edward's strong reaction. It wasn't like I had told her more than what we had told Paul in the car. "She asked, so what was I supposed to do?"

Edward threw out his hands to the sides and looked up at the ceiling. "Uh, _lie_ ," he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. I realized then that he thought I'd told her the entire story, and I felt slightly hurt that he thought I was that dumb.

I rolled my eyes in irritation. "I didn't tell her that we ran away from home. I told her the same story we told Paul. I'm not stupid, Edward." I stood up from the bed and started to take my own clothes off. Edward didn't even blink as I stood there in only a bra and panties. Both of us had realized that our underwear didn't expose more than swimwear did and we had gone to the beach together several times, so it wasn't like it was anything new.

"Oh," he said and broke eye contact to pull his pants down. "Sorry. I didn't mean to say that you're stupid." His cheeks were adorably red, and I smiled.

"I forgive you." I grabbed one of the towels from my bed. "Do you mind if I shower first?"

He shook his head. "Not at all."

It felt so good to stand underneath the stream of hot water and the small bottles of shampoo and conditioner actually had a very pleasurable scent.

When I was done, I looked at my underwear with disgust. I really didn't want to put them back on, but what was I supposed to do? I didn't have anything else.

I decided that Edward and I would buy some new underwear tomorrow, but my used ones had to do for tonight.

However, my body was still damp, so I wrapped the towel underneath my arms and grabbed my underwear so that I could dry myself out in the room while Edward showered.

I opened the door and saw Edward on the bed watching TV with only a towel around his hips. I also saw that his own underwear lie on top of his pile of clothes, and I suddenly felt very warm when I realized that both of us were practically naked while being in the same room.

Edward didn't seem to think much of it, though.

"Are you done?"

I swallowed and nodded. "Yeah. The shower's all yours."

Edward got up from the bed, but because the room wasn't too spacious, we kind of collided when I made a move to walk up to my bed and accidentally stepped into Edward's path for the bathroom.

It caused us to laugh and he gave me a sweet kiss and cradled my face in his hands.

I don't know what it was that told me it was a good idea to deepen the kiss, but I did and instinctively placed my hands on Edward's chest as our tongues began to move together.

That was when I felt it; " _something"_ that was slowly, but surely, hardening against my hip.

I froze, and so did Edward.

He knew I felt it, and only a second later, he broke away from me and practically fled into the bathroom with flaming red cheeks.

While I was shocked, I still thought he was very cute at that moment.

I puffed my cheeks and exhaled to calm myself down. My face felt hot, and I felt tingles all over my body.

Edward and I had never gone past anything but kisses. We made out heavily during a party once, but that was pretty much it, and the reason for that was that we didn't ever speak of advancing the physical side of our relationship.

We had been a couple for about seven months now, but the topic of sex or anything close to that had never been brought up. I didn't bring it up because I was so nervous, and I don't think I felt ready for anything either.

I had no idea why Edward didn't want to talk about it.

I guess it was always a given that we would be each other's first, eventually. Maybe that was why we've avoided the topic, but after what just happened, I was beginning to believe that our first time wasn't the reason at all and that it was perhaps time to talk about it.

Could I start that conversation without blushing ten shades of red, though?

I had no idea, but I had to try because I knew that I didn't want Edward and I to stay the way we were forever.

 **{=TR=}**

 **Edward Pov**

Once the door closed behind me, I quickly locked it and turned to the sink. I needed to calm myself down before I did something I would regret later, and I attempted to do so by splashing cold water on my face.

Images of the kiss Bella and I had just shared kept playing behind my eyelids, and while I tried to block them out, it was to no avail. I couldn't understand why this kiss affected me more than previous ones had. We'd shared much more heated kisses in the past, but for some reason, my heart was still racing in my chest and my dick refused to relax.

Only cold water on my face didn't do the trick, so my time in the shower was spent underneath a spray of ice-cold droplets. When I was so cold my teeth were chattering, I turned the hot water back on and scrubbed away the dirt and grime from the past days, and thought about everything that had happened.

It was a relief that I was now positive Bella wouldn't ever leave me for another, even when there were men like Paul around. Our love was too strong, and I vowed silently that I would never doubt her feelings again. She was mine, and I was hers. It was as simple as that.

Still, there were things we needed to discuss about our relationship. I knew Bella had felt it when my body reacted so noticeably to our kiss, and there was no doubt in my mind that she would want to talk about it, no matter how embarrassed she would feel.

I wasn't looking forward to it, and I don't think any guy did, but since we ran away from home, Bella's and my relationship had become more intimate in one way, while it stood at an absolute standstill in another.

I guess, neither of us really knew how ready the other was for the next step. If Bella said she was ready tonight, I definitely wouldn't mind. I was a sixteen-year-old guy, and I wanted to have sex, despite not really knowing anything about it.

Feeling clean enough, I turned off the shower and wrapped my towel around my hips. I cursed myself for not bringing any clothes with me inside, but there was nothing to do about that now. I took a few deep breaths before I opened the door and went back out into the room.

Bella was leaning against the headboard of her bed, and when she saw me only wearing the towel, I was amazed that while she blushed, she didn't look away shyly like she always did. She followed me with her eyes as I crossed the room and sat down on my own bed.

"We need to talk," I said with determination when I was feeling everything but confident at that moment.

She nodded but remained quiet, and I could see that she was just as nervous as I felt. If I hadn't been so sure we both wanted our first time to be with each other, I would have chickened out.

I rubbed my neck and looked at the floor. "About before—"

"Do you want to?" Bella interrupted me, and I looked up at her, shocked by her bold question.

I blinked. "Uh, do you?"

She shrugged. "I don't know," she mumbled quietly. "I mean, of course, I want to..." My eyes widened, and she hurried to finish her sentence. "But I don't think I'm ready for it tonight. A-are you?"

Her face was adorably red, and I couldn't help but fall in love with her a bit more right then. My Bella was a bit of a prude, but I loved it. I chuckled, and Bella smiled at me timidly.

I didn't want her to feel pressured, so I tried to word my reply in a way to make her know that it would be her decision. "Whenever you're ready, I'm ready." I stood up and sat down next to her before pulling her into my arms into a comforting embrace. I was still very much naked underneath my towel, but it didn't feel as awkward as it had before.

After what seemed like a lifetime, we pulled apart. Bella yawned and tried to hide it behind her hand, but giggled when she failed.

"We should sleep," I said. "It's been a long day, and who knows when we'll have the chance to sleep in beds this comfy again." She nodded in agreement and crawled underneath her comforter. We shared a chaste kiss and I returned to my own bed.

Bella sighed contentedly. "I only wish we could have slept in the same bed. It feels so lonely to have you all the way across the room."

"It's only for one night," I assured her. "Besides, we used to sleep apart all the time before."

Her smile fell. "That was different. That was when we were … home." I did notice how she hesitated at the word "home", and I understood why. It wasn't really our home anymore, but her family was still there, and I knew she missed them.

"Baby, I know you miss your family. I miss mine, too, even though they are the cause of all of this. They would never allow us to be together, and they'd be even more determined to keep us apart now, if they found us, but they would have to shackle me to the plane seat to keep me away from you."

"And lock me up and throw away the key," she agreed. "I don't want to go back, Edward. I want to be with you. I just wish it could be easier than it is. Hopefully, it will be when we reach Emmett's place."

"Are you excited about meeting your brother again?"

She nodded and smiled. "Yes. I remember how I looked up to him when I was just a kid. It'll be nice to hug him again. He always gave the best hugs."

"Then let's sleep, and it will be morning faster, and another day closer to Emmett." I winked at her, and we turned off the lights in the room.

Both of us were asleep in minutes.

* * *

 **A/N:** So the subject of sex has been brought up between our teenagers now … that conversation is never fun to have when you're a teenager. Such awkwardness … so much blushing.

Just for fun, do you think our couple would be ready for this big step in their relationship? Are they mature enough for it?

Alright!

Have a good week, and we'll truly try to be on time next Wednesday!

xoxo


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** It's Wednesday! That means update! Yay :-D

Most of you liked that they actually talked about sex before doing something they weren't ready for because neither of them is!

So, let's see what happens with our youngsters at the B&B with Charlotte and Peter :-D

* * *

 **{Chapter 11}**

 **Bella POV**

"How much money do we have?"

"We haven't spent that much yet. We have about two thousand left, and we really need to buy new clothes," I told Edward as we ate breakfast in the cozy dining room that Charlotte and Peter provided for their B&B guests.

"You're right, and if our next destination is as far as possible, we will probably save money there, as well. Maybe we can reach New Orleans next, and continue to Houston or Galveston from there."

"Maybe," I agreed and stuffed another forkful of scrambled eggs in my mouth. They were delicious and if I got to eat a breakfast like this every day for the rest of my life, I would die a lucky woman. Charlotte was a great cook.

Later that morning, Charlotte told me that she was going grocery shopping and that I could come along to buy new clothes and essentials for me and Edward before we continued our journey. I accepted her invitation and rode with her in her car to the closest Target.

Everything went great and I loved shopping with Charlotte. As we discussed whether a certain color would look good on Edward or not, I realized that I had never truly done this with my own mom. She was too invested in her career to do mundane things like going shopping with her daughter, and when I walked around in the supermarket with Charlotte, I understood how much I'd actually craved those simple activities.

I loved my mom, I really did, and I knew she loved me as well, but her way of showing it wasn't always in the way I wanted or needed.

Was that why Emmett had also left all those years ago? Had my parents lack of affection driven him away from home? Would they change now that both of their kids had run away? And would I ever experience that change if that was the case?

I forced those thoughts out of my head and focused on the present instead. I had left the past behind for a reason. I wanted and _needed_ to be with Edward to be happy, and as long as our families couldn't accept that, we wouldn't ever be a part of their lives again.

Everything went smoothly until we stood in line to pay for our things. Charlotte and I were lightly arguing over who should pay for mine and Edward's clothes because Charlotte didn't want us to waste our travel money. I had never told her how much money we had, and she didn't need to know, but she was under the impression that we didn't have a lot of it, and she wanted to help.

While that touched me a lot, it didn't feel right to keep exploiting this woman, because that's what it felt like we were doing. I didn't want her to pay for our things. She didn't owe us anything and she had already given enough.

She was placing her groceries on the conveyor belt with her back to me when I spotted what made my heart completely stop in my chest.

Only ten feet away from me, my own face was staring right back at me from the newspaper stand, and next to it was an equally large picture of Edward.

The huge, bold headline read:

 _Teenage Couple Missing in Chicago_

and underneath the pictures:

 _Reward For Info_

From the corner of my eye, I cast a glance at Charlotte and wondered if she'd seen the paper and was now only holding me here for as long as possible until police could come here and arrest me.

I wanted to buy a copy of the paper so badly and bring it to Edward so that we could find out what they had so far, but it was too much of a risk. The cashier would definitely make the connection, so I refrained from what I wanted to do and tried to act as normal as I could.

I don't think I succeeded because Charlotte asked me if I was okay. I gave her a tight smile and nod but felt incapable of any more than that.

When we got back to the B&B, I didn't waste any time and searched for Edward. I found him in our room, and as soon as the door closed behind me, I breathed out in relief. I had been terrified the entire way back that Charlotte would ask me about the paper, and I'd tensed up every time she inhaled to talk.

"We have to leave tonight," I told Edward. "And we have to go under the radar completely now."

Edward frowned. "Why?"

I groaned because I knew that my dad was behind this. "The media has been notified and our faces are front page news. I saw it at Target. I thought my heart would stop when I saw our pictures."

Edward placed his arms around me and gave me a comforting hug. "Did Charlotte see it?"

I shrugged as best as I could while still in Edward's embrace. "I don't know. She didn't act like it, but I don't want to take the chance. She suggested that we stay here for a few more days and rest some more, but I want us to leave tonight. As soon as it gets dark."

Edward nodded. "Yeah, I think so, too. I don't like the idea of us going through town when it's dark when those Vultures are probably most active, though."

I leaned away and looked at Edward's concerned face. "You don't think they would attack us or anything, do you?" I asked, suddenly becoming more afraid about that gang than I was when Peter and Charlotte told us about them. If Edward was scared, maybe I had reason to be as well. I just hadn't given that gang any more thought after hearing about them.

"Who knows. Nobody seems to understand what they want or what they're after. I talked with Peter about it some more today, and I didn't like at all what he told me."

I tightened my arms around Edward again and leaned my ear against his chest. I didn't want him to tell me what Peter had told him. If we were going to leave tonight, I didn't want to be too scared.

I had never been a huge fan of the dark, and I would only see imaginary threats in every corner if he told me.

Despite all of this, though, we really couldn't stay here for another day. It was too much of a risk.

We would also have to leave quietly and without goodbyes, which I almost hated more than I hated the dark. It felt so rude after everything Peter and Charlotte had done for us, but I knew they would only try to persuade us to stay, and it would be easier to just sneak out.

I closed my eyes and took a moment to hope that the rest of our journey to Mexico and Emmett would just go smoothly and without any more problems.

 **{=TR=}**

 **Edward POV**

I tried to soothe Bella as much as I could, but what she'd seen had distressed her to such an extent that I could actually feel her heart flying against my own chest. I rubbed small circles on her back with my fingertips and eventually her tense body relaxed further into my own.

"Feel better?" I asked, and she nodded. "Then let's gather our things." I didn't like what she'd told me, and like her, I'd prefer being on the road sooner rather than later.

We packed quickly and silently, but just as I was closing the zipper on my backpack, there was a knock on the door. Bella and I exchanged a look, neither of us feeling safe to interact with our hosts, but it would have been more suspicious of us to not open the door.

I nodded toward Bella, and she went for the door carefully.

"Charlotte, what can I do for you?" she said with a smile that anyone could see was fake, and her voice had a slight tremble to it.

"Can I come in?" Charlotte asked lowly, and I reacted at the hushed quality of it. She was talking as if she didn't want to be overheard. Bella must have noticed it as well because she opened the door wider and let a wide-eyed Charlotte into our room.

Charlotte eyed our bags, but she didn't appear very surprised by their packed state. Her arms were crossed over her torso as she turned toward us.

"Do you mind telling me why there are two FBI agents downstairs asking my husband about you?"

Bella and I looked at each other again, but this time in fear. Neither of us thought our location was already known, and now, we were trapped.

Charlotte sighed. "Look, I've known from the start that you two aren't just on a road trip through the country to visit a relative in Mexico. I could smell the bullshit from miles away, but I gave you the benefit of a doubt because you seem like nice kids. Now, please, assure me that I haven't harbored criminals underneath my roof."

"We're not criminals. All of this has just blown way out proportion," Bella pleaded, but I wasn't so sure it was wise to tell Charlotte the truth.

"Bella," I said warningly, but she ignored me.

"Our families don't understand our love. They want to keep us apart. We had to do something and running away seemed like the only option. I guess we should have known that they wouldn't just let us go, but to make it a national matter like this is just ridiculous!" she confessed, and I could see how she physically lightened with the revelation.

Charlotte stood silently for a short moment and then nodded. "Okay, I'll accept that. Come with me and I'll help you get out."

I frowned in confusion. "What?" I asked. "You're not gonna turn us over?"

She smiled slightly. "No, I'm not. While I think your solution to the problem is very irresponsible, I can relate." With that, she opened the door and walked out into the hall. "Grab your bags."

We felt that we couldn't really question her motives for helping us because we didn't really understand what she meant, but we weren't about to say no to a little help. We did as she told us and followed her down the hall to a room that she unlocked with a key that looked older than the ones that led to the other rooms.

The room inside wasn't a bedroom like I had expected. It looked like a space they used for storage, but what I also noticed was the very small wooden door on the opposite side. It was toward this door Charlotte ushered us. Behind the door was a narrow staircase that led to what I assumed was an attic. The steps were very steep and I eyed it hesitantly. Why did she lead us up to the attic? How was that helping us out? Or was she, in fact, going to lock us in and then get the feds from downstairs?

However, Charlotte went in first and climbed the stairs, and so Bella and I felt like we didn't have a choice.

The attic was huge. It probably stretched over the entire house and it was filled with boxes and things covered in dust sheets.

"The old fire-escape has its exit up here. We had to install newer ones to get our permit for the B&B as it wasn't practical that the only escape was in the attic," Charlotte said and opened a window. Underneath it, a metal ladder went all the way down to the ground.

The jingling of keys made me turn back to Charlotte and she was holding out a set of car keys to me. "On the backside of the garage, there's a door that is hidden from view if you stand by the front door. Use that and take the car that is parked inside. I want you to have it."

I accepted the keys in awe, but before I was able to express my gratitude, Charlotte was on her way back toward the stairs.

"Wait!" Bella called out, and Charlotte looked back at us.

"Don't stop on the way, and don't look back. Just go. Peter and I will keep the agents occupied until you've left. That's all we can do."

"That's more than enough," Bella said. "Thank you so much!"

"Don't mention it."

She turned to leave again, and that was when I got my voice back. "What did you mean before? About how you can relate?" I asked.

This time, she answered without turning to us. "I can't tell you, but just so you know, my real name is not Charlotte." She left quickly after that, and we didn't waste any time.

I climbed out first, but as I started to go down, Bella only stuck her head out and made a whimpering sound. I looked at her and suddenly remembered that Bella was terrified of heights.

"Baby, I know this scares you, but we don't have a choice. We have to get out of here," I said in a way I hoped was soothing, but the stress of everything was getting to me. We didn't have time for hesitation.

Bella nodded and then shakily began climbing out. I could see her trembling, and I hoped with all of my might that she wouldn't slip because she was more focused on her fear than to place her feet steadily on the steps.

"You're doing awesome, Bella. We're almost down," I said encouragingly. I was careful to _not_ tell her to not look down because that shit never worked.

After several excruciating minutes, our feet touched the ground, and Bella almost fell into my arms in her relief.

"I am so proud of you," I whispered into her hair while stroking her back to slow her trembling.

She released me from her steel grip, and while I could see that the fear still lingered, there was also the determination to keep going. "Let's go," she said breathlessly and headed for the garage.

I was right behind her.

* * *

 **A/N:** Interesting! Who notified FBI? How did they know to look at the B&B?

Let us hope they get away okay!


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** Another week, another update! This chapter may cause more questions 😉 hopefully sometime your questions will be answered!

 **{Chapter 12}**

 **Bella POV**

In the garage, a red Mustang was parked.

I was in complete awe that Charlotte just gave this to us, but we didn't have the time to marvel at the beautiful vehicle, and so I went for the driver's side door.

"Give me the keys, I'll drive first," I said and held out my hand for Edward to toss them to me, but he didn't. Instead, he gripped the keys and looked hesitantly at me. "C'mon, give me the keys! We have to get going."

"Bella, you're still shaken from going down the ladder. I don't know if you're fit for driving right now."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Stop patronizing me. You drove us all the way to St. Louis, so I think it's my turn now."

Edward still held onto the keys, and I was getting really annoyed. "That was two weeks ago, so it doesn't count."

"It so does!" I exclaimed. "Now shut up, and give me the damn keys!"

He sighed, but finally threw the keys my way, and I caught them without a problem, sticking my tongue out at him at the same time. It caused him to chuckle and roll his eyes at me.

While I climbed in behind the wheel, Edward threw our backpack into the backseat and carefully, but quietly opened the garage doors. When he climbed in beside me, he looked a bit more relaxed.

"I think Charlotte invited the agents inside. The driveway's clear."

"Then let's go," I said and pressed my foot down on the gas.

At first, we were planning on doing as Charlotte told us, and not stop along the way, but we decided that we should buy some gas before we left Little Rock. We were already exposed here; the damage was already done, so to speak, since the agents were here. We needed to let our trail disappear here, so instead of luring the police to the next state we stopped in, we might as well get everything we needed here first.

We thought the gas station closest to the town limits would be the "safest" one, but even after making sure the station appeared empty apart from one other car, Edward pulled up the hood of his jacket and put on a pair of sunglasses before exiting. I put on my own pair of sunglasses but remained behind the wheel. It was better if as few people as possible saw two suspicious teenagers together.

I drummed my fingers on the wheel as I waited for Edward, and I was getting more anxious by the second. When Edward was done with the gas, he opened the passenger side door and leaned in. "I'm just gonna head inside and pay. I'll be back in a minute."

I nodded but continued to tap the wheel anyway.

It had probably only been seconds since Edward went inside the station store, but I was still looking after him, hoping he could hurry up, but then a knock on my window startled me into a scream.

A dark-haired guy wearing baggy jeans and a black T-shirt was standing outside my door. He looked to be nineteen at the most. I didn't think he had anything to do with the police, but at that moment, I had zero trust in anybody, and so I only lowered my window the tiniest bit.

"Yeah?" I asked, and the guy leaned forward slightly. The room between the car window and the door was too small for him to get a closer look at me, but he placed his hands on the edge of the glass, making me scared he would break it or something like that. I had just noticed that his arms were covered in tattoos all the way down to his knuckles.

"What's up, Beautiful?" he said and chewed loudly on a piece of gum. "What's someone like you doing out here all alone?"

"I'm not alone," I instantly replied. I was slowly becoming scared because there was something off about this guy.

He clearly didn't listen to my reply because he continued to look at me as if I was some kind of prey. To him, maybe I was. "I'm Aaron, but you can call me whatever you want."

The guy was really freaking me out at this point and I was suddenly afraid that he would jump Edward if he felt threatened by him, so I felt that it was up to me to get him to leave before anything like that could happen.

"And I'm not interested, so if you could just back off, that would be great."

Aaron smiled sinisterly. "Aaw, c'mon, Beautiful! Smile a little. I told the guys I'd get you to talk to me."

I looked toward the only other car, and I could clearly see a gang of four other guys standing around it. One was a blond, and the others were dark-haired like Aaron. They were all dressed similar to each other and were all covered in tattoos. All of them were looking in my direction, and it felt as if my heart was about to stop. I had my suspicions about who these guys were, but it was when I looked at the back of Aaron's hand and saw the large vulture with fangs on it that I knew for sure.

It was just mine and Edward's luck that we would choose the gas station where the gang that was putting fear in Little Rock were hanging out.

"Sorry to let you down," I said and really tried to conceal my fear. I started to raise the window, but Aaron refused to let go.

"At least tell me your name," he insisted. His brown eyes were boring into my own sun glass-covered, and I was beginning to shake.

I shook my head. "I'd rather not."

Aaron's smile fell and he inhaled sharply through his nose. "You know, I don't take rejection well, and I don't think you want to see me angry," he said threateningly. His hands tightened around the glass, and my self-preservation kicked in.

"Look, my dad's a cop, so I'd leave if I were you," I said as bravely as I could. It didn't matter that I was telling the truth, though, because Aaron must have been able to smell the deceit I was trying to pull on him.

"I'm not afraid of cops, Beautiful." His voice was very low at this point, and all I wanted to do was put my foot on the gas and get the hell out of there, but I couldn't leave Edward. I made a quick look toward the store again and wondered where he was. It shouldn't take that long to pay for gas.

When I looked back at Aaron, he was also looking to the store. "That was your boyfriend going inside before?" he asked without looking at me, and he didn't wait for an answer either. "He didn't look that impressive. You can do much better than that." He looked back at me and winked. I was feeling very disgusted. I could not believe this was actually happening. I thought things like this only happened in movies.

"What do you want?" I asked exasperated.

Aaron smiled again, wider this time. "As I said, I just want to know your name … and something to dream about tonight."

My eyes widened in shock. "What?"

He shrugged as if what he had just said was nothing. I might have been a prude, but I wasn't stupid. I knew exactly what he was asking for, and I wanted to cry. I didn't know what to do. There was no way I could fight. I wasn't a fighter, and there were five of them. I couldn't drive away, either, so I was completely stuck.

Nothing had happened, but I was already feeling violated and naked. "Why?" I asked with tears in my voice. Why had they chosen me to harass? I'm sure I wasn't the only girl that had stopped at this station today.

Aaron reached inside the car to touch my cheek. I flinched out of his reach, and the almost closed window prevented him from getting closer to me, but the spot where his fingertip had brushed against my skin burned as if it had been splattered with acid. "I want to know what you'll offer me for not calling the police on your ass."

I stared at him in fear and swallowed thickly.

He nodded and looked like the most pleased person in the world. "That's right. I knew exactly who you and your boyfriend were as soon as you drove into our territory. So tell me, why shouldn't I make the call and collect that money that was promised?"

 **{=TR=}**

 **A. Lane POV**

I rubbed my hands over my face in frustration as Demitri and James recapped the latest trace we had of the Swan girl and the Cullen boy yet another time. We didn't have much despite the red alert put out by the bureau to every district and state, and the reward promised on the front page of the papers had so far only lead to absolutely nothing. We got a lot of callers, but they were mostly hoaxes. One even claimed they had seen them in a drag club in Las Vegas. For two teenagers, they were very good at disappearing and none of us knew how they did it, or even how they could afford it.

Chief Swan and Carlisle said that the only activity on either of their accounts was when Isabella paid for a motel room in St. Louis the same day they ran, but after that, they had not been touched. I suspected they were getting help from someone, but had no idea who.

"Are you alright, boss?" James asked.

Carlisle and Chief Swan went at each other every chance they got and were grating on every inch of my nerves. This resulted in a raging headache on my part so I wouldn't say I was "alright."

I was just about to answer when there was a knock on the door.

One of the new assistants, one whose name I'd forgotten, poked their head through the door. "Agent Lane, we've got another tip on the Swan/Cullen case. It sounds legit this time."

I waved the assistant inside, and he opened a folder to read the tip. "A woman claimed she saw the girl with a known B&B owner inside a Target in Little Rock, Arkansas. Said she was just looking at the front page picture of Isabella Swan when she looked up and saw her in the line just next to her."

I was hesitant, but the tip sounded more likely than the previous ones we'd received. I turned around and looked at the map where we had marked the places where we knew the two teenagers had been. Little Rock was even further south and while we still had no idea where they were going, it looked like a route they could have chosen as it didn't deviate from a logical path.

"Turner, Porter, what do you think?" I asked with my back to them still studying the map.

"It sounds like an unbelievable coincidence, but it's the best tip we've received in a week. I think we should look it up," Demetri said, and I agreed with him, so I turned back around toward the assistant.

"Little Rock is at least a day's drive away from here and they might be gone again by that time. Call the office in Little Rock and tell them about the tip. Do you have the contact information of the woman who made the sighting?"

"Yes," the assistant nodded.

"Good! Give that to them, and make them call her for more details. I want them to call me immediately after they've searched the B&B and tell me what they found out. Go!" The assistant scurried off to make the calls and I sat down again behind my desk.

"Aren't you gonna call the Chief and Carlisle Cullen?" James asked when I made no such move.

I shook my head. "I'd rather avoid having those two in the same room, and especially my office, for as long as possible."

"But they should be notified," he insisted, but I just shook my head again.

"Not until we know for sure it was them. It could be another dead end."

 **{=TR=}**

 **Edward POV**

It took me a bit too long to pick out the snacks for the road that I wanted to buy for us along with the gas, but I wasn't sure what Bella would like the most. She had always loved chocolate M&M's, but hated the brown ones and always gave them to me. I didn't like them either, although, I knew that they actually tasted exactly the same, but I ate them for her.

I put the M&M's back and settled with two bags of chips and two bottles of water and hurried to pay for them and the gas. I headed back out, but stopped when I saw a guy leaning against our car, talking to Bella. Three other guys were standing by the only other car, and I was positive they were his buddies. On of them had a very intimidating build, thick muscular arms that looked like they could snap me in half, and that was why, when I started to approach again, I was even more careful.

When I was a few yards away, I called for Bella. I needed to see her face and assure myself that she was alright.

"Bella?"

Bella turned her head toward me, her eyes were wide and frightened, and she mouthed 'run' to me. The guy leaning against our car glanced up at me and then nodded to his buddies, and they immediately started walking toward me. I dropped my purchases on the ground and turned around to do as Bella said. I ran around to the back of the store, and when I saw a large dumpster, I thanked god that I was still small enough to squeeze in underneath it.

I was on my stomach underneath the dumpster, my breathing was heavy from exertion and stress, but I tried to calm it down so that my pursuers wouldn't hear me. I didn't know how I was going to get us out of this mess because I couldn't fight them. Not only because they were four and I was one, but also because I had only been in two schoolyard fights before, and they were minor things compared to something like this. These guys would surely kill me if I even attempted to fight them.

I couldn't just run, either. Bella was still in our car, trapped by the first guy, and there was no way that I would leave her.

I heard my pursuers' footsteps, then, and I saw their sneakers rounding the corner and then stopping right in front of my hiding place.

"Why is it that we have to do the dirty work, while Boss gets to have all the fun?" One of the guys asked.

"Because he's the boss," a second one replied. His bored, emotionless tone indicated that he was quite tired of the first guy's stupid questions. "We'll find the little shit and drag him back to the car, and you can take your frustrations out on him, alright?"

"Now that'll be fun," a third said and all of them laughed.

I stopped breathing completely when I heard and felt how they opened the lid to the dumpster and looked inside it.

I was beginning to get lightheaded when I heard them start talking about Bella.

"Hey, Cain, what kind of plans do you think Boss has for that sweet thang in the mustang?"

"I don't know, but I hope he'll at least share. But then again, if I were him, I wouldn't wanna share her, either. I'd bend her over that sweet ass car and fuck her so hard, it would blow her brains out while screaming my name," the guy called Cain said and laughed again.

I started to panic at the thought of him or any of them touching my Bella, but I had to wait until they were gone. It felt like hours before their shoes disappeared from sight into the wooded area surrounding the store. They thought I was hiding in the bushes, and I took the chance and shuffled out from underneath the dumpster and ran back toward the cars.

I almost froze at the scene before me. The boss had gotten Bella out of the car and pressed her against the body of it. He was pushing his tongue forcibly into her mouth, one hand was underneath her shirt on her breast, and he was grinding his junk against her thigh.

The completely terrified look on her face and the tears running down her cheeks were what caused me to run faster, and when her whimpering reached my ears, I felt myself being filled with rage.

I grabbed the guy by the neck of his shirt and pulled so hard he stumbled and almost fell to the ground. I didn't care that he was older, larger, and obviously had more muscles. He had made my Bella cry, and he had touched her without her consent. Without pausing, I wound my arm back and connected my fist with his face. My knuckles hurt like hell, but the satisfying crunch of his nose made up for the pain. He started bleeding, and as he held a hand over his nose, I hurriedly pushed Bella inside the car. She climbed over the center console to the passenger seat, and I followed her inside.

Faster than I ever thought I'd be able to before, I started the car and sped down the road. In the rearview mirror, I saw their car following and gaining on us. A fleeting thought told me how insane this entire thing was, but I pushed it away and focused on driving.

"Hold on," I instructed because we had no time to put on our seatbelts.

I punched the gas and kept my focus forward so that I wouldn't lose control of the car. I wanted so badly to reach over for Bella's hand and ask her if she was okay. That guy had been only minutes away from raping her, and I couldn't even fathom what was going through her head right now. All I knew was that she was very quiet. Unfortunately, I needed to keep my hands on the steering wheel with the speed we were going at.

My hands were shaking, and my heart was pounding with all the adrenaline pumping through my veins and all the while Bella sat completely quiet.

I saw the sign that said we were leaving Little Rock, and I chanced another glance in the rearview mirror. I saw their car stop right by the city limits, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"They stopped," I told Bella, and finally, she broke down and started to cry uncontrollably. Her breathing was fast and shallow as a panic attack claimed her. I inched my foot up on the gas to slow down slightly, but I still needed both of my hands on the wheel.

"Baby, try taking deep breaths," I told her. "I want to help you, but I can't stop the car right now."

She cupped her hands over her mouth and tried to slow down her breathing, but her tears still ran down her cheeks.

"Breathe with me," I said and took a slow deep breath. I saw from the corner of my eye how she mimicked me, and eventually, she got her breathing back under control.

An hour later, I felt we were finally safe enough to stop by the side of the road. We were still in Arkansas, but a sign said we were closing in on Prescott which was over 97 miles away from Little Rock.

I got out of the car and rushed over to Bella's side and opened the door. I didn't force her to get out of the car. I just crouched down next to her and looked at her face. I reached to take her hand, but she flinched, and it broke my heart.

"Bella, talk to me, please," I pleaded, and she turned her red-rimmed eyes toward me.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** Howdy! What up, and all that! :-D

Our couple just barely escaped in the last chapter and they're starting to realize how difficult life on the road can be for two kids.

I need to issue a **W** **arning** here! Bella was sexually assaulted in the last chapter, and while it wasn't a completed rape, her personal space was invaded and her body was touched without her permission. She truly thought she was going to be raped before Edward saved her, and so her part of this chapter is going to be very dark and self-loathing.

If you are triggered by such things, I recommend that you skip Bella's part in this chapter!

* * *

 **{Chapter 13}**

 **J. Turner POV**

I leaned back in the chair I was occupying and closed my eyes for a minute. I was seriously sleep-deprived since the boss insisted we worked around the clock to locate the two missing kids from Illinois. I could barely remember the last time I slept in my own bed.

"Turner! Get back to work!" Boss yelled at me, which caused me to startle and almost fall out of the chair.

"Sorry, boss," I mumbled and rubbed my eyes tiredly and glanced at the clock on the wall. It showed a little after eleven in the morning, and nobody on the team had slept during the night since boss found out that the agents who visited the B&B where the kids had been assumed to stay came up with absolute squat.

The owners did say that they had housed two kids for one night, but the information they'd left had been false, and since they paid in cash, the owners had waited to confirm their identities. The agents had reprimanded them for it, but there was nothing they could do about it either since the kids had presumably checked out as soon as they'd had their breakfast.

It felt strange to me, though, that these "innocent" kids had gone to such lengths as to have fake ID's. They didn't act like teenagers, they acted like master con-artists and it confounded us all. Where did they get all their money for their supplies? Where were they heading? There was a part of the puzzle missing, and a small part of me suspected that Carlisle Cullen or Chief Swan knew something they were holding back on, but what was it, and more importantly, why?

I had not voiced these suspicions to Boss yet, though. Because of my tendency to speak my thoughts directly, I'd gotten in a lot of trouble, and this time I was going to wait until I had more to go on than just my gut feeling.

A phone began to ring and it took me way too long to realize that it was my private cell phone, and when I did, I scrambled to fish it out of my pocket, which caused Boss to give me the stink eye.

I was just about to reject the call when I saw that it was my Aunt Deanne, and she only ever called when she wanted to talk about cousin Marcus.

Had Marcus been just a normal kid, I wouldn't have cared, but my cousin, known as "Psycho" in his circle of friends, was a high-ranking member of the Vultures of Little Rock, a fact my aunt was amazingly oblivious to.

It couldn't be a coincidence that she was calling barely 24 hours after our missing teenagers had been sighted in Little Rock. It just couldn't.

That was why I gave Boss an apologetic wave and answered the call.

"Aunt Deanne?"

"Jamie! I'm so glad you answered. How are your parents? Is everything good with you?"

I suppressed a groan. The problem when talking to relatives was that it always took forever to get to the point of the conversation, and Aunt Deanne was no different.

"Mom and Dad are just fine. I'm fine," I told her hurriedly. "Working on this big case, you know."

"Yes, those two missing teenagers from Chicago, right? I saw the article in the paper, and it's just awful! Their parents must be so worried. I know I'd be out of my mind if Marcus went missing. And the girl, she's so cute. She could get in a lot of trouble out there on her own." She just went on and on, and eventually, I had to interrupt her.

"Yes, she could get seriously hurt, and that's why I can't be held from my work for too long. Was there something in particular that you wanted, Aunt Dee?"

"Oh, yes, of course. I'm sorry, honey. I kind of floated away there. But anyway, about those two teenagers, my little Marcus told me that he saw them last night."

I stiffened as fear started to creep up on me. If Marcus had seen them, the most important thing that I needed to know first was if he'd been alone or if he'd been out with the Vultures.

"He did? Where?" I asked.

"He said he was out with his friends," I closed my eyes and held in my groan. "when they stopped for gas by a station on the I-30. Apparently, the two kids were in a red Mustang in the car next to them. Marcus said he recognized them from their picture."

I was so tense at this point, I was actually shaking. I knew there were huge parts of that story that were missing because Marcus would never tell his mother the truth. As long as she fed him and gave him a roof over his head, he would keep her out of the loop.

I never told her either, because the Vultures had never been caught doing what everyone knew they were doing, and without proof, Aunt Dee would blow up in anger and sever herself and Marcus from my family, and I couldn't be the one responsible for ruining my mother's relationship with her sister.

However, since Marcus had been out with his "friends" that meant that Aaron "The Boss" Rivers, and Caelen "Cain" Jones had definitely been with him, and that pair was the worst of the worst.

Because of my relation with Marcus, I had never been allowed to get close to any sort of investigation of the Vultures, but I'd found out information on my own. Like the fact that Aaron was a known rapist on the streets, but he had become such an expert that he never left any evidence behind, and Caelen had been the prime suspect in the case of his brother's murder. There was no doubt in my mind that he had done it, but the evidence presented in court had only been circumstantial and the jury had freed him, resulting in that he could never be prosecuted for that crime again.

If these two guys had gotten their eyes on the Swan girl ... I shuddered. The thought was too horrifying. And the Cullen boy was only sixteen and didn't have a whole lot of muscle.

Worst case scenario: he was in a ditch somewhere on the I-30, beaten to death, and the girl, if she had been taken by Aaron, he probably had her at his place, torturing her until she couldn't take it, or until he tired of her and threw her out.

If I dared to hope, maybe he'd already tired of her and she had gotten herself to a hospital like the previous girls had.

I realized that Aunt Dee was still talking, and I focused back on her. "Sorry, Dee. Could you repeat that?"

"I said that Marcus said he saw them continue on the I-30 toward Benton. Maybe you should put up roadblocks or something."

I didn't dare to hope that the kids had gotten away. It could have been just an extension of the lie Marcus told his mother, but I wrote down the information anyway. It could come in handy. First of all, I was going to tell Boss everything and ask that we search through every hospital in Little Rock as well as Benton. He would not be happy about it, but it was our best bet so far.

"Thank you, Dee. I'll talk to you another time, okay?"

"Okay, just tell your mom I said hi!"

"I will. Bye." I ended the call and stood up from my chair. "Boss! I got a lead!"

 **{=TR=}**

 **Bella POV**

I hugged my knees tighter to my chest and rested my chin on them. I stared at the horizon emptily. I couldn't really wrap my head around what had happened, and I couldn't stop crying.

The memory of Aaron's touches and kisses continuously flashed through my head, and nothing kept them away. They were on repeat and so vivid it felt as if I was still there at the gas station, still trapped between the car and his body.

I could still feel his erection push against my thigh, and it made me nauseous, but I couldn't throw up.

His hands on my breasts were still there, and I couldn't remove them.

He wasn't there physically, but he was with me anyway. He was on my body, on my very skin, and I was nowhere near a shower so that I could wash away his dirt and scrub myself clean. I couldn't burn my clothes like I wanted because they were the only clothes I had.

The sun burned orange as it was setting, but I didn't move.

I knew Edward was sitting by the car, watching me, worrying about me, because I wasn't able to have him any closer than that. I was hurting him, and I hated myself for it. I blamed myself for not accepting his attempt at comforting me.

All he wanted to do was help, but when he touched me, all I felt was Aaron's hands, and it made me feel even guiltier. What kind of monster was I to compare my boyfriend's touch with the one that had been forced on me?

I was positive Edward hated me. He should hate me because I couldn't fight Aaron. I couldn't say no, and now I prevented us from driving any further because the mere thought of being enclosed inside the car had me so anxious I was on the verge of another panic attack.

I deserved to be hated by Edward. All I did was fuck up time and again, and make messes, like when I paid with my credit card at that motel, or when I went shopping with Charlotte. I had been so stupid and naïve. How could I have believed that I wouldn't be spotted?

It was my fault we were front page news because of my overreacting father.

Eventually, the sun disappeared behind the trees, and the world was tinted blue and then became dark very quickly.

I felt rather than heard Edward come up behind me, and when he sat down, he sat a couple of feet away, which only confirmed his hate for me.

"Bella, we need to keep going. We can't stay out here tonight."

I continued to stare empty into the air, but then I got up without a word. I didn't dare to speak because I knew there was nothing I could say that would make up for what had happened. I went back to the car, but hesitated by the door.

My heart started to beat faster as I thought about being stuck inside the small space, but I knew I didn't have a choice either, so I gingerly climbed inside. I shut my eyes as soon as the door closed, though, and they remained closed as Edward got in behind the wheel and started the engine.

I wanted to take Edward's hand to reassure myself that everything would be fine, but I was sure he would recoil in disgust if I did, so I stayed still in my seat with my eyes closed, and Edward didn't say a word.

I must have fallen asleep at one point because when I opened my eyes, while it was still dark, Edward was pulling off the highway.

"Where are we?" I asked, my voice rough with sleep and disuse.

"Shreveport, Louisiana. I was hoping we could find someplace to sleep for the rest of the night," he replied, but his voice was low and guarded, and I remembered that he was angry with me.

I bit my lip and kept quiet.

We drove through the small city, but neither of us could see any vacancy signs on the motels we passed, so we just continued on.

It didn't take long for us to realize that we wouldn't be able to find a room, so when Edward saw a parking lot that looked like a camping site filled with caravans, he pulled in and killed the engine.

"We could sleep in the car, I guess. At least it's better than outside," he said, but his voice was still kind of gruff, and so I just nodded in agreement. I wasn't about to complain.

Both of us reclined the seats as far as they could go, and I turned on my side so that I was facing the door and away from Edward.

He didn't say good night, and my tears started to silently fall again.

 **{=TR=}**

 **Edward POV**

It didn't matter that I was exhausted. I got no sleep that night because the only thing I could think about was my girl in the passenger seat turned away from me, and I could hear her soft sniffling. I knew she was trying to be quiet and hide her tears from me, and it broke my heart.

I didn't know how to help her, but I wanted to so badly. I wanted to reassure her with hugs and kisses, but she flinched whenever I came too close, and the last thing I wanted was to force my proximity onto her. Right now, that would probably do more damage, but I was clueless at how to act around a victim of assault.

What I wanted was to drive back to Little Rock on my own, find the asshole that broke my girlfriend and beat him up, but the smart half of me knew that it would probably only end in my own inevitable death.

Instead, I waited until the dawn broke, when Bella had finally fallen asleep, although I doubted it was a very restful one, and I exited the car as quietly as I could so that I wouldn't wake her up. She needed to rest after what she'd been through.

I needed to clear my head and think, and so I wandered further into the parking site until I reached a rocky beach looking out over a tranquil lake that I didn't know the name of. The quiet solitude was exactly what I needed, and I sat down on a larger boulder and looked out over the water.

The orange sun rose slowly and reflected in the water, blinding me slightly. I squinted, but it was too difficult to see anything, and so I just closed my eyes and tilted my head back instead.

My head was cluttered with thoughts, plans that didn't go as they should have, dreams that seemed too far away, fears that enveloped us and threatened to break us apart, and I did something I very rarely did and only when I was completely alone.

I cried.

My tears were hot against my cheeks, but when the droplets landed on the back of my hands, they were ice cold.

The sound of steps on the stones behind me caused me to hurriedly wipe my tears away. I didn't want anyone, and especially Bella, to see me crying. She was the one who had been assaulted, and I needed to be strong for her. There was no room for me breaking apart now.

"Hey, kid! Is everything good?" a male voice asked and I turned to look over my shoulder.

A couple who looked like they were in their late forties was approaching. The man had very long, gray-brown hair tied back in a ponytail and a bushy mustache while the woman had wavy bright red hair. Both of them were dressed in clothes that indicated they didn't buy new ones very often, but they didn't exactly appear homeless either.

I didn't answer them and stood up to leave.

After everything that had happened, I didn't trust strangers, and it was probably in my, and Bella's, best interest if we kept away from other people until we reached Mexico.

"You don't need to leave, man," that man said. "It wasn't our intention to impose on your meditation time, but you looked rather blue," he continued, and when I looked back up at him, his smile was wide and kind.

I still didn't say anything, though.

The man shifted slightly toward the woman. "This beauty right here is my wife Katie, and I'm Garrett." He held out his hand to me. "It's nice to meet you."

I tentatively accepted his offered hand. "I'm … uh … my name's Jackson," I lied. I didn't know these people or what they were up to, although I doubted they worked for the police, but I wasn't taking any chances. Not anymore.

"You don't sound so sure, kid," Garrett said and winked at me with a grin. "Naw, I'm just playing with you."

"We saw you pull into the site last night in that flashy red car of yours with a girl," the woman, Katie, said. "And then this morning when you passed outside our window on your own, I told Gary we should introduce ourselves to our new neighbors." She was also smiling; her blue eyes twinkled with gentleness.

I frowned in confusion. "Neighbors?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, or well, temporary neighbors at least. We're all rubber tramps here, so nobody sticks around for long."

I felt myself become even more confused. "Rubber tramps?"

Garrett chuckled. "It's what they call the ones that hoof it around in vehicles." He pointed toward all the caravans parked in the site. "Katie and I take our home with us wherever we go, just the way we like it."

I glanced at the caravans, not really knowing what to say.

"Anyway, we have introduced ourselves, so here comes my next question," Garrett continued. It was becoming obvious to me that he was the talker in the relationship. "That car you came here in is sweet and all, but I doubt it does anything but take you from A to B, so how about getting that girl and have some breakfast with us in our van?"

"Um…" I hesitated. "I … don't think that … no, it's okay, we'll be fine."

"We're not gonna hurt you," he vowed. "You just look rather hungry, and we have food enough to feed two more," he explained.

I was speechless.

They were both so kind and didn't give off any bad vibes, but Bella was the one who had been violated, and I felt that this decision wasn't all up to me, and so I declined. "I don't … I mean … we don't know you…" I awkwardly reminded him. "Why are you so nice?"

Garrett shrugged. "Just extending a helping hand to a fellow traveler, but I understand." He held up both his hands in surrender. "It's good to be a little cautious."

They turned to leave, but Katie stopped after a few steps and turned back around toward me. "I'm sorry for asking, but it seems to me that you're more than just a _little_ cautious. Why is that?"

"I have my reasons," I responded defensively, not at all in the mood to tell this strange couple anything personal.

Katie nodded in understanding and Garrett spoke again. "Well, the offer is open for whenever you'd like to come over. Our home is the colorful van across from your car. You can't miss it, and all you have to do is knock."

I nodded to acknowledge their offer and watched them as they walked away. When they were out of sight, I turned back to the water, picked up a stone and threw it as far as I could. It plopped down and disrupted the surface, and I sighed at the thought that the metaphor it represented was my life.

I knew I needed to return to Bella. She was probably awake by now, and I didn't know what her reaction to my absence was, but it was probably exaggerated. I also knew that I needed to work on getting close to her again, but I was still not any wiser on how to do that.

Maybe, if we accepted Garrett and Katie's offer, some help from the outside might not be such a bad thing. But I had to talk to Bella about it first.

As I approached our car, I looked at the colorful van beside it, now knowing who it belonged to, but I continued on. In the daylight, I saw that Bella was crouching down on her heels, leaning against the back of the car, her head bent down and the burner phone in her hands.

She startled when I walked closer, and her eyes were wide and scared. She almost looked like she had been caught doing something she shouldn't.

"Hey," I said softly, and then cleared my throat. "Have you talked to Emmett?" I asked, nodding toward the phone.

She looked away from me, back toward the ground, but I had already seen the tears fill her eyes again, and then she shook her head.

I sighed quietly and sank down next to her.

I didn't say anything, and neither did she. We just sat there side by side, and I wanted to talk to her, and I wanted her to talk to me. I wanted to be the shoulder she could cry on. The rock she could lean on, but how was I supposed to bring it up without reminding her of the attack at the gas station.

That was when she said the last thing I'd ever expected her to say.

"I was gonna call my dad," she said in such a small voice it had barely carried in the air between us.

But I had heard it. And my heart sank. I turned toward her and looked at her beautiful face which was drawn with such anxiety. "What?"

And she broke.

She sank all the way down on the ground and buried her face in her hands, her knees drawn up against her chest, her whole body shaking with her sobs.

"I'm sorry, Edward, but I can't do this! I'm not strong enough!" she cried out. "I am weak, and disgusting, and I have almost gotten us caught so many times, and it's all my fault. You'd be so much better off without me. I am of no use but to fuck things up, and I am so fucking sorry, but I know you hate me, and I wish you wouldn't, but I understand why you do because I hate myself and—"

I couldn't take it anymore and I pulled her into my arms. At first, she resisted, and for a second I feared that me forcing myself on her like that would bring back memories, but her pushes on my chest weren't very strong or determined, and eventually, her arms wound around my back, and she burrowed her face into the crook of my neck, still crying so hard her entire form was shaking.

"Babe, I don't hate you," I said. "I could never hate you. You are the most important person to me; _ever_. I love you so much and there is absolutely nothing that I wouldn't do for you." I started to stroke her hair gently, and her sobs calmed down.

Eventually, I leaned away, grabbed her shoulders and made her look at me. "None of this was your fault. We were bound to make mistakes, and maybe it was childish of us to believe we wouldn't when we ran away, but you know what?" She shook her head. "We were kids, and we still are. I have already learned so much since we left Chicago, about myself and about you, and I know there are tons more to learn, and I look forward to doing so, with you next to me."

I swallowed thickly. "Can I kiss you?" I asked, and while she trembled slightly, she nodded, and I put my lips on hers, giving her the softest kiss I could manage.

New tears fell from her eyes and wet my cheeks, but I didn't care. I pulled her into my embrace again, and allowed her to cry.

"I don't hate you," I told her over and over, and waited for her tears to dry and her trembling to stop.

* * *

 **A/N:** Did you noticed that? The way in which Edward spoke to Bella reveals how the event at the gas station changed them both quite a lot. Neither of them will be the same after that.

I hope you didn't have to bring out the tissues in the end, but I have to admit, while writing this chapter with cloe, I felt the pain Bella went through.

Until next week!

Kisses

~~MarieCarro


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:**

What's up folks? You've asked us repeatedly to update this story. We've read all your pleadings and we really wish we could have updated so much sooner. However, life happens you know. And it's filled with crap.

But that's why we write for you! To give you a chance to flee from the real world for just a little while.

Now, we have to warn you that this isn't a particularly happy chapter. In ch. 12, Bella was assaulted by a guy named Aaron (you probably remember that) and she's still dealing with the aftermath, and naturally, Edward is worried about her.

Let's get into this again, shall we!

* * *

 **{Chapter 14}**

 **Bella POV**

It's fascinating how one event with a stranger can alter your entire view of the world, and sometimes, even change your personality. Whether as a result of the trauma you lived through, or because suddenly you are fearing the same thing would happen again, that fear would pop up in the most absurd situations.

Aaron's assault on me was such an event, and while I now knew that Edward didn't blame me for it or hate me because of it, the irrational part of me was still unable to relax fully. I still trembled when he held me, and sometimes flinched when he came close too fast.

He took it all in stride, though, and I loved him even more for it. I had never held such love for another person as I did when Edward showed how patient he was with me.

Miraculously, he still wanted to be with me.

We stayed at the caravan site for several days, and the strange thing was that even though it was the most open place we'd stayed at since we first left Chicago, I had never felt safer.

Edward made friends with the inhabitants of more than a few of the campers, and while I had not dared to approach any of them yet, they were all so friendly and allowed me to isolate myself by the rocky shore of the lake every day.

I did feel guilty that Edward was the one who did favors for the people in order to get food for the both of us, but he told me he didn't mind. He understood that I needed time, and he wasn't going to push me.

He did joke around, though, that when we reached Mexico, he expected me to take on the role of the housewife so that he could have some rest. We both laughed at that, and it felt so good.

I squinted against the setting sun over the lake and pulled my blanket tighter around my shoulders. It was getting a bit chilly outside, despite it being Louisiana, it was still in the middle of fall, going into the winter months, and the night just wasn't as warm as the day.

"It's Grace, isn't it?"

I whirled around, startled by the voice behind me; my heart thundering high in my throat as fast as a hummingbird's wings.

The woman behind me had wavy, red hair reaching just below her shoulders, and kind brown eyes with a few wrinkles around them. She was dressed in well-worn jeans, though they weren't torn, a striped t-shirt, and a suede jacket that had passed its glory days years ago.

It took a moment for me to remember that she was talking to me.

Edward and I were known as Jackson and Grace here, as we had learned by now to not give out our real names, and since I hadn't made a habit of speaking to the other people living here, it threw me out of the loop to be addressed by my alias.

I, fortunately, remembered, and I nodded and replied with a small 'yes,' before I turned back to look at the water.

"I didn't mean to scare you, honey. I just thought it was time we got personally introduced to each other. I've been talking to your boy quite a lot lately, but you're a bit quieter, aren't you?"

I shrugged without saying anything, but I didn't protest when the woman sat down on the rock next to me either.

"I am Katarina, but around here I am just Kate, or Katie if you ask my husband."

I nodded in acknowledgment and gave her a tight-lipped smile. I wasn't usually an anti-social person. I used to feel that it was easy to talk to new people, but I was just so mistrusting of everyone, nowadays, and I simply couldn't bring myself to be more vocal.

Edward had talked quite a lot about this woman, Katie, though, and her husband, Garrett, as they apparently lived in the camper just across from where our car was parked. He had extended their offers of eating dinner with them pretty much every night since we came here, but I just couldn't comfortably sit down with a strange couple, no matter how nice they were.

Katie sighed but didn't say anything else. She just sat next to me and looked at the setting sun until I couldn't do anything but relax in her presence. That was when she turned her head back to me.

"I know you've lived through something horrible. Your entire body language screams of it. I have my suspicions of what it could be and while I don't have any personal experience of it, thank god, I do know what it feels like when your will is taken from you."

Tentatively, I turned my head to her, and the only thing I saw in her eyes was a maternal concern for me.

"I also know that some things can be very difficult to talk about with men because they simply can't understand exactly what's going on inside a woman's head, and that, sometimes, it can actually feel better if you confide in a stranger since they can't judge you."

I had yet to say anything to her, but I was listening intently. Her voice was soothing and so trustworthy it actually made me shudder. I swallowed thickly as I felt fresh tears well up in my eyes again. I hadn't shed a single tear since I broke down in Edward's arms the morning after we arrived here. I'd kept them at bay, and it had been difficult to do so, but it made me feel stronger when I was able to lock them inside.

"What I want to say is that I'm here if you ever need to talk, just between girls, you know. There are things you really shouldn't keep bottled up. They'll swallow you whole from the inside until the only thing that's left is an empty shell."

Katie didn't say anything else, but she remained next to me.

I didn't leave either, but I was conflicted over whether I could actually give part of my trust to this unknown woman. Did I really dare to do that again?

It wasn't wrong to put our trust in Charlotte, after all. She helped us get away. She even gave us her car.

It came to me, then, that of all the people Edward and I had met since we left home, the only ones that had been bad were the leery motel owner in St. Louis, and he didn't even, technically, do anything wrong, and of course Aaron and his crew.

But all the others; Jacob, Paul, Charlotte, and Peter, and now Katie and Garrett, were all kind. They all wanted to help.

It wasn't fair of me to isolate myself from them because of the actions of one disgusting man-boy who thought he could take whatever liberties he wanted as long as he wasn't called out on it.

That was why I looked down at my feet and started to tell my story, omitting a few details, with a trembling voice, while Katie patiently listened to every word without interrupting me once.

 **{=TR=}**

 **Edward POV**

I dropped the pile of firewood in my arms on the ground in front of Gary and Katie's van, and he chuckled heartily. "Well, you're quite industrious, aren't you?"

I shrugged and smiled, just slightly embarrassed. "A little bit, I guess."

Gary looked out toward the water, and I followed his gaze and saw that Katie was sitting on the rocks next to Bella, both of them looking at the setting sun. It shocked me since I had yet to see her talk to anyone around the camp, but it also made me happy that she was getting better.

"That's a nice girl you've got, Jack. It's a shame she had to go through what she did. But she will be okay."

I looked at Gary with confusion. What did he mean? Did he know? How?

"It's not hard to guess, kid," he replied in response to my confusion. "And it sorta helps when you've seen the signs before."

I sat down next to him, and we watched Katie and Bella together. "Katie?"

He inhaled sharply and shook his head. "No, my little sister. She was a bit older than Grace is now when it happened to her, and she reverted completely into herself. Didn't talk to anyone about it." He turned to me. "You see, Jack when people's space get invaded like that, their defense mechanism tells them that they deserved it, that they don't deserve love anymore, and to protect the ones closest to them, they walk quietly away into empty spaces."

"You mean that—" I started to ask worriedly, but he quickly reassured me.

"Don't worry. This is why I know Grace will be okay because instead of walking quietly, she did what my sister couldn't." He smiled at me. "She confided in you."

I hummed and took up a rock from the ground just to have something that would occupy my hands. "I just wish I could do more."

"You've done just about everything you can for your girl, kid. It's best to give them space until they come to you, or until you see the signs that say you need to step in. What you need to do now, though, is make sure this thing doesn't grow like a storm cloud over your heads."

"Has anyone ever told you that you are scarily insightful?" I asked him, and he chuckled heartily at me.

"You know, I've even been told that if I could show them that I can walk on water, they'd accept me to be Jesus."

I laughed with him, and then stood up. "You're right, Gary. We'll get past this."

He gave me a pat on my arm as I made my way over to the rocky shore to join Katie and Bella. When I approached, I got to see something that was rare these days and that was Bella smiling at me.

"Hey, Katie? You mind if I steal Grace for a bit?" I asked, and she immediately stood up.

"Not at all. Garrett and I need to start with dinner now, anyway, and Grace," she turned to look at Bella. "I won't accept a no this time. I insist that you and Jack join us tonight."

Bella gave a small nod. "Okay," she replied quietly, and Katie left us with a satisfied smile.

I held out my hand for Bella to take, and when she did, I helped her stand up but continued to hold her hand. "Walk with me?" I asked, and she quietly obliged.

"How was it? Talking to Katie?" I asked after a moment, hoping she didn't feel like I was prying.

"It was nice. Did you ask her to do that?"

"Not at all. I was off collecting firewood."

Bella smiled again and I turned her toward me but paused before leaning forward, silently asking her if it was okay. I was happily surprised when she stood up on her toes and initiated the kiss, even though it wasn't as confident as her kisses used to be. It was some progress, at least.

We continued our walk at a leisurely pace, and I noticed that something in Bella was lighter than it had been for quite some time.

"I like it here," she suddenly said and broke the silence.

"I do, too," I agreed. "We're still a long way from Mexico, though."

She sighed. "Yeah, I know. And I haven't called Emmett yet. He probably thinks we're halfway through Texas by now."

An idea formed in my head then. "Hey, Bella, what would you think about just staying here, and go along with Gary and Katie when they decide to move along?"

She turned to me with a frown. "What? Like, forget Mexico?"

"No, not at all," I hurried to say. "But just postpone it a bit. We can't use the Mustang anymore anyway. It's connected to us now."

"Yes, but—"

"We've been too reckless, Bella," I pleaded with her. "We need to start planning this better. The feds have almost caught us everywhere we've gone because we've never gone off our path. We keep going south, and if we continue like this, we'll lead them right to Emmett."

"But they can't follow us across the border," she said. "Dad has told me they don't have jurisdiction there."

"They don't, but they'll know we're there."

She looked down at our feet and thought about it.

"Just think about it," I said. "Campsites full of hippies would be the last place they'd look for us, and we could enjoy more of this." I gestured toward the beauty around us; the rocky shore and the lake. The serenity and refreshing air. "I'm sure it would only do the both of us good."

Bella eventually conceded, and we shared another tentative kiss.

"Dinner should be ready now, but maybe you should call Emmett first?"

We walked back to the Mustang, and Bella pulled the phone out of the glove department and dialed the number she knew by heart at this point.

I heard Emmett's muted voice when he answered, and it was obvious he was a bit distressed.

"Calm down, Em. There was a … um, a situation in Little Rock, and Edward and I had to get out of there fast. We're in Louisiana now, and we're both fine."

I could hear how tense Bella was in just her tone, and it was obvious Emmett could as well because his reply was anything but calm.

"I really don't feel comfortable talking about it over the phone, but I'll tell you when I see you, okay?" Bella pleaded, but then she sighed and handed the phone to me. "He wants to talk to you."

I swallowed nervously and took the phone. This would be the first time I actually talked to Emmett, so I was slightly scared. "Hello?"

" _Edward, right?"_ Emmett's deep bass voice said into my ear. _"So are you gonna tell me what happened to my little sister?"_ I was definitely scared. The man sounded terrifying.

"Uh, it's kinda complicated."

He scoffed. _"Complicated, my ass. Was she hurt? And don't lie to me because I will know."_

I ran my hand through my hair agitatedly. "Not physically, but really, she's fine now."

Emmett was quiet for a moment, and then I heard him sigh. _"She'd better be, Edward."_ Another moment of silence, and then he changed the subject. _"So how long until you reach the border, do you think?"_

Relief washed over me as I knew I could speak about this. "Actually, we were thinking of taking a detour, so we will be slightly delayed."

" _What sort of detour?"_

"Well, you know that your dad reported us missing with the FBI, and they've been at our heels ever since Mississippi. We don't want them to know we're going to Mexico, so we're going to drive around a bit. You know, throw them off our trail."

" _That's sensible I guess. Alright, well, let me know when you decide to get closer. I will meet you at the border then."_

"Yeah, sure. Of course."

" _Good. But Edward, I'm telling you, take care of my sister. She's my family."_

I instinctively nodded even though he couldn't see me. "I'd do anything to protect her," I told him truthfully. I had wanted to say that I wouldn't let any harm come to her, but that would have been a lie because I had already let that happen once. The only thing I could promise now was that it wouldn't happen again.

" _Thank you. Talk to you later."_

"Yeah, bye."

I gave the phone back to Bella and then wrapped my arms around her small waist. She had lost weight, I had most likely as well, but it shocked me that I hadn't noticed until then. "Let's go to dinner," I said into her hair and took a deep sniff of it. It didn't smell like her favorite shampoo from home anymore, we'd had to make due with the simple bar of soap Katie had provided for us, but it smelled more real now. More Bella and less artificial perfume. I liked it.

Hand in hand, we walked up to Gary and Katie's door and knocked. Gary opened and grinned when he saw us. "Lookie here, Katie, the saplings have arrived!" he exclaimed joyously and stepped back to let us inside.

* * *

 **A/N:**

They acquired a couple confidants now and that will be very healthy for the both of them, and things are progressing toward happier things. But it is a drama story, and our teenagers still have massive amounts of things to deal with before they can reach their goal.

But let us all know, do you think their plan of staying with Katie and Gary for some time is a good one, or would you rather have them go directly toward Mexico and Emmett? What did you think of Emmett's reaction in his conversation with Edward? And what do you think of Gary and Katie? Are they good people?

I'm afraid I won't be able to give you ch. 15 until week 45 after Halloween because I'm working at an amusement park and won't have access to a computer until then, and Cloe has taken a small break to deal with some RL stuff.

Hopefully, you understand :-D


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:**

Heeeeeey!

Time for chapter 15 and we will start it with hearing from Emmett :-D Hope you guys will like diving into his head a bit and get some explanation as well, perhaps ;-)

Our couple will also take a big step in their relationship in this chap, so be ready for it.

I want to send out an extra thank you to spidermonkey321 who helped to make sure the Spanish was on point xD

* * *

 **{Chapter 15}**

 **Emmett POV**

I parked my truck on my driveway and wiped the sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand. The sun was blazing hot and I longed for the bottle of ice water I'd pulled out of the freezer and placed in the fridge earlier that morning.

As soon as I opened the door to my home, I smiled when I heard the singing voice of my Rosalee, and I called out for her. "¡Estoy en casa, Rosalee!" _I'm home, Rosalee_

"Estoy en la cocina," _I'm in the kitchen,_ she called back, and I went to the kitchen, which was where she said that she was, and when I spotted her, I grabbed her and dipped her back so I could kiss her.

She squealed in surprise but still smiled at me. "Me darás un ataque al corazón un dia de estos," _One of these days I'll get a heart attack,_ she said tenderly and cupped my cheek before giving me another kiss.

"Sobrevivirás," _You'll survive,_ I teased and she rolled her eyes in response.

I helped her back up on her feet before going for that bottle that was calling for me in the fridge. The ice-cold liquid felt like heaven as it went down my throat and I used the bottle to cool down my forehead.

"¿Ha llamado tu hermana?" _Have your sister called yet?_

I shook my head and sighed. "Aún no." _Not yet,_ It worried me that I hadn't heard from Bella since they were on their way to Little Rock with that man who thought I was her uncle. That was over a week ago, and I guess they could have decided to just drive on without stopping like I had when I first made my way to Mexico.

I was angry with myself that I hadn't made the suggestion of meeting them halfway, but there was a part of me that was scared of going back to the States. I was afraid that I wouldn't be allowed back into Mexico once I'd made that journey and that I'd be separated from Rosalee, who couldn't come with me over the border as she would become an illegal immigrant, and it could ruin her entire life that she had built for herself here in Hermosillo.

Here, I was the illegal immigrant, and I was fine with that. I was fine with just working as a gardening assistant with my boss, Emilio, and that I would never advance to anything above that, but Rosalee was on her way to becoming an established Associate Attorney, a position she'd most likely never get in the States, and I couldn't take that from her. She loved her job too much.

"Por cierto, necesitas practicar tu inglés," _By the way, you need to practice your English,_ I said and leaned against the counter next to where she was cutting tomatoes. "Mi hermana no habla español." _My sister doesn't speak Spanish_

"Lo estoy intentando," _I'm trying,_ she said, exasperated. "Es difícil." _It's hard_

"Lo sé, querida." _I know, darling,_ I stole a slice of tomato from her board and she glared playfully at me, but I just winked at her. "¿Te ayudaría si te hablo mas en inglés?" _Would it help if I spoke more English?_

She shrugged. "Quizás." _Maybe._

Just then, the phone reserved for Bella started to ring, and I practically dived for it, which had Rosalee give me a small smile.

"Bella? Where have you been? Where are you? Why haven't you called me? Do you know how worried I've been?"

" _Calm down, Em. There was a … um, a situation in Little Rock, and Edward and I had to get out of there fast. We're in Louisiana now, and we're both fine."_

I frowned at her response because I didn't like it, and it was obvious this _situation_ she was talking about wasn't a pleasant one. Her voice dripped with tension. "What kind of situation? Tell me everything, Bella, right now," I demanded.

" _I really don't feel comfortable talking about it over the phone, but I'll tell you when I see you, okay?"_

"Not good enough, Belly. Put that boy of yours on the phone. I want to talk to him." If Bella refused to give me answers, the boy sure as hell would.

I heard her sigh, and then the phone exchanged hands and the unfamiliar voice of a young boy sounded in my ear. _"Hello?"_

"Edward, right?" I said and attempted my most authoritative voice. "So are you gonna tell me what happened to my little sister?"

" _Uh, it's kinda complicated,"_ the boy answered, and I could hear that he was scared. Good.

"Complicated, my ass. Was she hurt? And don't lie to me because I will know."

" _Not physically, but really, she's fine now."_

Not physically? What the hell was that supposed to mean? How was I supposed to interpret that? I realized I wasn't going to get much more out of the boy, though. "She'd better be, Edward." I pressed my fingertips into my temple to soothe a tension headache I could feel was on its way. "So how long until you reach the border, do you think?"

" _Actually, we were thinking of taking a detour, so we will be slightly delayed."_

I tensed up again, on high alert. "What sort of detour?"

" _Well, you know that your dad reported us missing with the FBI, and they've been at our heels ever since Mississippi."_ Yeah, dear old Charlie had a habit of overreacting big time, but then again, I couldn't really blame him either. Had I been in his shoes and my daughter suddenly disappeared with a boy, I would have done pretty much the same thing. _"We don't want them to know we're going to Mexico, so we're going to drive around a bit. You know, throw them off our trail."_

I had a feeling there was more to the story, but I also recognized the tone of pretense independence in Edward's voice that all teenagers used when they wanted to convince others they could handle themselves.

They had run away from their parents because of rules, misunderstandings, and the threat of separation. I wasn't about to drive them away from me by acting as another father who told them what they could and could not do. That would never end well, and so the only thing I could do from my position was to agree with him.

"That's sensible I guess. Alright, well, let me know when you decide to get closer. I will meet you at the border then."

" _Yeah, sure. Of course."_

"Good. But Edward, I'm telling you, take care of my sister. She's my family."

" _I'd do anything to protect her,"_ he promised me, but it only reassured me a little bit. I was still far from being calm.

"Thank you. Talk to you later."

" _Yeah, bye."_

I hung up the phone, and Rosalee, who didn't understand all the words, but knew that the conversation hadn't been filled with good news, abandoned the tomatoes and wrapped her arms around me.

 **{=TR=}**

 **Bella POV**

"Grace, help me peel these potatoes for dinner, will you?" Katie asked me and gave me a bowl full of potatoes and a peeler.

"Wow, Katie, are you planning on having the entire campsite over for dinner?" I asked her with a quiet chuckle before reaching for the first potato.

"Shush, both you and Jack need to put on some weight. You're too skinny to survive on the road. You need flesh on those bones for the winter," she replied with a maternal smile.

"We're in San Diego, and it's still over sixty degrees outside. Jack and I are used to much lower temperatures than that, so I believe we'll be fine."

It was true, though, that both Edward and I had lost quite a bit of weight since we set out for Mexico, but it couldn't be helped. I didn't have much of an appetite and Edward burned off any calories he ate with all the manual labor he always did for the other tramps around the campsites we always rolled into when the four of us felt we'd driven far enough.

We'd been traveling with Katie and Gary for a month now, and not once had we been recognized or close to be discovered again. Our run-ins with the FBI or anyone else who'd felt tempted to turn us in had reduced to zero, and while I always remained on my toes, I hadn't felt that relaxed in a long time.

Probably not since Edward first told me about his family's impending move to Paris.

A lock of my, now copper colored, hair fell in front of my face. I'd gotten the idea to start lightening up my hair-color the same night Edward and I asked Katie and Gary if we could travel with them. I was actually surprised I hadn't thought of it as soon as I saw my picture next to Edward's slapped on the front page.

It was, after all, the easiest way to avoid being recognized from afar. It also helped a lot that with my new, almost ginger color, I could easily pass for Katie's daughter, and it kept the other tramps from asking too many questions.

Edward refused to color his hair. He said that he'd rather cover it with a hat, but I had been able to convince him to allow his hair to grow longer because it made him look like he fit in with the people we surrounded ourselves with.

He didn't like it at all and said that he looked like a darker-haired version of Anakin Skywalker from Revenge of the Sith, and he constantly dragged his hand through it to get the long strands away from his face.

Aside from all of that, Edward and I had started to find back to each other. The overall stress of being on the run had put a strain on our relationship, and there had been times when it seemed we forgot the reason we ran in the first place.

We'd never fought as much as we had since we left Chicago, about such stupid and silly things, too, and it hadn't been until we got to witness and experience the tranquility of Katie and Gary's life that we realized that.

With their help, I was able to process the assault and let Edward in completely, which resulted in him being much happier.

So I could never regret postponing reuniting with my brother in Mexico because as Edward had said, living this life had turned out to be exactly what both of us needed.

The door to the van opened and Gary and Edward came inside, both of them grinning. My guess was that they'd had success with business today, and it was confirmed when Gary opened the small metal box in which he stored the money to show me and Katie the profit.

"It only took two hours and we were completely out," Gary said with a grin before he planted a sloppy kiss on Katie's cheek. "You, my beauty, make the best homemade wine in this part of the US. Several buyers asked for the recipe."

"Really?" Katie asked excitedly.

"You shouldn't look so surprised, Katie," Edward said before he sat down next to me and threw his arm casually over my shoulders. "Everything you make is delicious."

Katie's cheeks turned pink. "Oh, Jack, you're making me blush like a little schoolgirl. Aim your charm toward your girl instead."

I giggled when Edward immediately turned to me. "Have I told you how absolutely stunning you look in your new hair-color yet?" he asked and grinned since he knew all too well that he told me every day after I'd confided in him about my insecurity over if the color worked on me or not.

When I'd told him that I didn't want him to think I looked hideous, he'd taken it upon himself to remind me that I could never look hideous to him.

Katie knew this as well, and she chuckled. "Much better. And now that you're both here, you can help me and Grace with dinner." She handed Edward a cutting board and a knife so he could cut vegetables and she told Gary to start with the sauce. "And Melinda in the green van told me about a bonfire the entire campsite will have later tonight. I think we should all go. It will be fun."

 **{=TR=}**

 **Edward POV**

There was a good turn out at the bonfire and both Bella and I enjoyed ourselves. The music was fantastic; real and live, not played on speakers from a phone, and the people were friendly.

All of it had me wishing I could call it home and the people we surrounded ourselves with our family. It just felt right, but rationally, I knew it couldn't last forever. However, I tried to keep my mind on the present, mainly Bella sitting between my legs and leaning back against me, the two of us sharing a blanket that protected against the cold winds enhanced by the water.

"Jack! Grace!" Gary called from the top of the beach. "We're gonna head back to the van. You comin'?"

Bella tilted her head back and gave me a questioning look, but it was obvious neither was tired enough to retire. I smiled and gave her a sweet kiss before turning my head back to Garrett. "We'll stay a bit, but you guys go ahead!"

"Alright, have fun!"

Bella straightened up somewhat and shifted her body so that she was facing me more fully, and then she leaned forward to resume the kiss I'd ended too soon. Her mouth tasted of Katie's wine, and while she'd only sampled a very small amount, I wondered if she felt the effects of it. I'd had some myself and the wine was very strong.

When Bella deepened the kiss by pushing her tongue into my mouth, I knew I had to stop her before things escalated. I could already feel the stirrings in my jeans, and we hadn't talked any more about taking the next step, so I didn't want to make her uncomfortable. She was still dealing with some aftermath of the assault and everything was always going to be on her terms.

What I had not expected when I pulled back from her mouth was her grabbing handfuls of my hair and bring me back in, or that she would trace her hand down my chest until it was dangerously close to where I was beginning to ache.

"Bella, we should stop," I breathed out against her mouth.

"No," she disagreed. "We should keep going."

I pushed gently on her shoulder until she had to lean back. "If we keep going, you know what I'll want," I reminded her.

"Yes, that's what I want, too," she said unhesitatingly, and I blinked a couple of times, unsure whether I'd heard her correctly.

"You do?"

She swallowed hard and nodded before looking down at her hand that had started to play with the fabric of my shirt. "I'm ready."

I tilted my head down to catch her eyes. "You don't seem very sure," I observed. Her body language screamed of uncertainty.

"I am," she insisted. "I'm just nervous."

I cupped her cheek and gave her a quick kiss. "So am I."

She smiled sweetly, but then it was as if she became aware of the other people still milling around on the beach, and the other couples by the bonfire who hadn't even batted an eyelash at our PDA. She blushed and chuckled awkwardly.

"Could we go to the cliffs?" she asked. "I've always felt so relaxed there."

"Of course," I immediately agreed. Everything on her terms.

We stood up together and took the blanket with us as we walked down the beach toward the cliffs that Bella had used as her thinking spot ever since we had arrived at this campsite. She always went there after she'd had a particularly bad night filled with unpleasant dreams that unfortunately still tormented her at times, or when she simply needed to be by herself.

Without the light from the bonfire, the night was dark, but as our eyes adjusted, we saw enough to keep from stumbling and falling.

Finally, we reached the spot, and I spread out the blanket so that we'd have something to sit on. When we were both sitting down, it was obvious both of us felt our nerves resurface, and Bella started to draw circles on the blanket with her finger.

"Are you really sure about this, Bella?" I asked, hoping talking would assuage some of the butterflies in my stomach.

Instead of answering me directly, she sighed. "Do you know what day today is?"

I glanced at her sideways. "Is that a trick question?"

A small giggle escaped her, but she soon became serious again. "It's exactly five weeks since we left Little Rock today."

"Oh," I said, as that was the only thing I got out. She was thinking of the assault again, and I had hoped it wouldn't be a part of what we were about to share, but I guess it was childish of me to hope such a thing.

"I want to—no, I _need_ to reclaim my body, Edward. Do what _I_ want with it _when_ I want it."

I nodded as I could understand that much.

She turned to me and her dark eyes almost swallowed me with their intensity. "I want to replace _his_ nightmarish touches with your touches."

"Whatever you want me to do," I promised.

"Kiss me."

I happily obliged, and I could feel the difference of this kiss compared to previous ones because we both knew neither would stop the other this time.

We were both inexperienced and nervous, though, and hands shook as we unbuttoned each other's shirts, lips trembled when we touched new places, and both of us froze up several times when we needed to check if what we were doing was okay.

Once we were both naked, we stiffly laid down on our blanket. I wanted to look more closely at her body, but I didn't dare since just the small glimpse I'd had was enough to make me painfully hard. I was afraid I'd come in a second if I looked where I wanted to the most, so instead, I kept my eyes on her face.

It was Bella who initiated the next step when she scooted closer to me and rolled over on her side, which I mimicked, but my breath hitched in my throat when she threw her leg over my hip.

This was happening. We were actually going to do this.

I had absolutely no idea what to do except the basics that I'd learned while curiously watching a porn video here and there. I was positive the experience wouldn't be like that, but it was all I had to go on. Sex Ed in school hadn't been particularly informative on the subject of having sex for the first time, although I had heard that it could hurt quite a lot for girls their first time.

Jason had once told me something about some kind of barrier that girls had when they were virgins, but I had no idea what that was supposed to be.

We kissed again, and as I rolled my hips forward, I hoped with everything that I found the right entrance. I was scared I was completely wrong when I felt how unbelievably tight she was, and when she hissed out painfully, I immediately stopped.

"Am I hurting you?" I asked worriedly.

She clenched her eyes shut tightly. "I'm okay," she reassured, although I was not sure she was telling the truth.

I kept going, though, and I was amazed that despite the tightness, I was able to push inside with my entire length. Once there, I became unsure again. I was supposed to move in and out, that much I knew, and while feeling Bella's warmth around all of me felt better than I could ever have anticipated, I didn't know how she felt.

She was holding her breath, still grimacing slightly, but she nodded for me to continue anyway.

"Babe, you're hurting," I tried, but she shook her head before I had finished.

"I knew it would, but it's fine," she insisted. "Just keep going."

I could only do as she asked, and I shifted my hips back only to push back in much faster this time, which caused her to let out a groan. The friction was insane, and I knew it would only take a few thrusts for me to come. I could already feel my balls tingling and tightening.

"Bella..." I moaned out when she swiveled her own hips experimentally.

"It doesn't hurt as much anymore," she said and did it again.

"Good, but Bella I'm—"

"I'm fine, I promise," she said, not listening to what I was trying to tell her and rolled her hips again, but it was my undoing, and I came hard before I could warn her.

My breathing was harsh and my heart thundered in my chest, but I had never been more relaxed in my life. Still, I felt guilty for coming as fast I as did. I wasn't even sure if she'd gotten hers. "I'm sorry," I breathed out.

"Don't apologize," she said with a smile. "I'm sure it will be better next time."

I laughed incredulously, amazed by her confidence. "I love you," I said.

"I love you, too," she replied and kissed me one last time.

* * *

 **A/N:**

I hope you guys feel we did a scene like this justice between two teenagers who knows very little on the subject. Many times when I've read other scenes involving virgins, I feel that the guy appears to be way to experienced and he knows exactly where everything is and how it's supposed to be.

It was quite funny to dive into an insecure boy's head who only has friends and porn to rely on for information! XD

Next chapter should be out much faster!

See ya!

Adios!


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N:**

Oh god. Lots of things happening at the moment. Marie is busy with several of her other WIP's over at her other page and cloe is busy with her blog-work and promoting authors.

We hope this chapter will please you!

* * *

 **{Chapter 16}**

 **Bella POV**

The winds by the cliffs had gotten icy, and I could feel how cold my skin had become, but I still felt toasty warm on the inside.

Not because what Edward and I had done had felt amazing by any means. It had in actuality been rather anticlimactic, at least for me. I had assumed I wouldn't enjoy it, but while it had been somewhat painful, it hadn't been awful either. I didn't orgasm as Edward had. I had been so nervous and focused on that it would hurt, and there had been too much friction to feel good, but the reason I was still feeling completely satisfied was because it had been my choice.

I had chosen to do it with Edward. He hadn't pressured me like I'd heard a few girls from school say that guys did, and he had been so sweet and worried about hurting me that it caused my heart to swell with emotion as I fell in love with him all over again.

This was the reason we'd run away from home because we knew, no matter what our families told us or our friends said, we loved each other beyond any doubt. It just felt right being with him, and it shouldn't matter that we were technically still children.

I didn't feel like a child anymore. Not after everything we'd gone through. That innocence I'd looked at the world with before we ran had been wiped away, and I knew Edward felt the same. Both of us had matured a lot during the almost two months that had passed, and no matter what happened forward, things would never be the same.

At home, I had looked at Edward with that childlike love where I wanted to hang out with him all the time and bask in his cuteness and sweet words, but like all couples in our age, talking about the really serious stuff wasn't something we did with each other. Yeah, we talked, but our real and true insecurities were reserved for our best friends.

That had shifted. Edward was my best friend now. The one I always looked to when I felt scared or uncertain. He had been my cliff during the first days after the assault, and he had continued being my cliff to lean against since then as well. He was the only one I trusted with my entire being.

I was more convinced than ever that I would spend my life with him, wherever that would be. Maybe in Mexico with Emmett, it was hard to know that now, but one thing was certain.

It wouldn't be as Jack and Grace at these campsites with Gary and Katie.

I loved being with them, I really did. They felt like family even though we hadn't known them for very long, but the truth was that I already had a family member who was anxiously waiting for us.

Fascinated by Edward's bare chest that didn't scare me at all anymore, I started to trace patterns on his skin with my fingers, which caused him to shiver, but he didn't stop me either.

"Edward, don't you think it's time for us to continue on?" I asked him carefully. He was just a tiny bit closer with our travel companions and I expected his reluctance. "A month should be more than enough to throw the feds off, right?"

He sighed but nodded. "I'm sure of it. I doubt they're as hands-on searching for us as they were in the beginning, but I still hate to leave Katie and Gary. They've done so much for us."

"Yes, they have," I agreed because it was true. "But all of us knew this wasn't going to be permanent. I'm sure they'll understand."

"What are we gonna tell them, though?" he asked. "Do you want to tell them the entire truth? Our real names? We owe them that much at least, don't you think?"

He had a point, but something in me made me unwilling. I wanted them to remember us as Jack and Grace and not taint their picture of us by confessions of lies, but rationally, I knew it was the right thing to do. As Edward said, they deserved our honesty.

"You're right. We should tell them."

He turned his head to look at me. "But in the morning, right? We're not gonna wake them up now and drop the bomb that we're leaving right this moment?"

I smiled. "No, we can wait until tomorrow. I'm rather unwilling to move as it is," I said and snuggled closer to him.

"Me too, although, I'm gonna get dressed because I'm about three seconds away from turning into an ice cube."

 **{=TR=}**

 **A. Lane POV**

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Chief Swan roared at me. "You're closing my daughter's missing person's case?"

I looked at him, unimpressed by his behavior and continued to put everything in folders. "I'm not closing anything," I told him. "However, it's been a month since our last tip, and the car that the witness said your daughter used has still not been found. We have nothing to go on, and until we have another breakthrough, I can't continue to put all of my resources on finding a couple of kids that don't want to be found."

"How are you supposed to get a breakthrough if no one's working the case, Agent?" Chief Swan asked, still fuming.

I sighed and leaned forward on my desk on my hands. "The case is still open, Charlie. We'll still work on it, but I can't treat it as a priority case," I explained patiently. "Your daughter wasn't kidnapped, she left willingly. Normally, kids her age are found again within a week or two at some motel somewhere, or they come back home with their tail between their legs like misbehaving dogs. This is different. Your daughter and Edward Cullen are smart, and my team and I are certain they have help from the outside, but both you and Carlisle insist you have no idea who that could be. So tell me, what the hell am I supposed to do?"

Chief Swan glared at me for a second, but then he shifted his eyes away and groaned. "I can't believe this is happening again?" he mumbled, but I heard it.

"Are you saying your daughter as a history of running away?" I asked, not fully serious, however, Chief Swan's reply was the last one I expected.

"Not her," he sighed. "My son ran away seven years ago. He and I never really saw eye to eye, so it wasn't unexpected when he left. He was eighteen then so he was free to do whatever he wanted, but I never expected this out of Bella."

I froze with a pile of notes in my hand and looked at the Chief with a frown. "You have a son?"

He shrugged. "Biologically, yeah, but neither Reneé or I have spoken to him since he left. He didn't leave a phone number or address or anything so we haven't been able to contact him. When Facebook became more popular, we searched for him there, but nothing."

"And what about Bella?" I asked, now on full alert. This was completely new information that I couldn't believe the Chief had kept from us this entire time. "Do you think she's been in contact with him?"

"I don't see how," he replied and glanced at me in confusion. He couldn't see how this was important information even though he was a cop himself. "As I said, he didn't leave a phone number or an address, and Bella was barely nine years old when he left."

I pinched the bridge of my nose frustratingly. "What's his name?"

"Emmett Geoffrey Swan, but I wouldn't put it underneath him if he's had his last name changed."

I put the papers down on my desk and strode out of my office with a bewildered Chief on my heels. "Porter!" I yelled, and Demetri startled by his desk. "Search the database for every variation of the name Swan, Emmett Geoffrey. If he's applied for any sort of documentation or taken a loan or if he's even bought so much as a piece of gum, I want to know."

Demetri blinked. "Uh, yeah, sure, but who is he?"

"He's the Swan Girl's brother."

 **{=TR=}**

 **Edward POV**

I woke up to the bright and early sunrise, and although the winds were strong and icy, the warm body pressed against my own made the space under the blanket a perfect temperature.

A satisfied smile spread over my lips when memories of last night seeped into my consciousness, and I tightened my arms around my girl. I was in no hurry whatsoever to get up for the day. I would have been perfectly content to stay in that moment forever.

But then I remembered what Bella and I had agreed on before we fell asleep. We were gonna move on, and we were gonna tell Gary and Katie that we'd been lying to them this entire time. I dreaded doing it because it felt as if we were betraying them. However, Bella was right. All of us knew the arrangement between the four of us was never meant to become long-term.

Bella stirred in my arms, and I placed a light kiss on the tip of her nose to gently coax her awake. She scrunched up her nose adorably before blinking repeatedly. When she focused on me, she smiled. It was, however, obvious when her mind caught up with her and she remembered what we'd done because her cheeks flamed red. It worried me a bit because I didn't want her to regret it.

Being with her like that had been one of the best experiences of my life, and I wanted her to feel the same.

"Good morning," I told her softly, and she returned the sentiment without looking into my eyes. "Why won't you look at me? What are you embarrassed about? Are you regretting what we did?"

She swallowed, but then, to my great relief, she shook her head. "No, I don't regret it. It wouldn't be very fair of me to do that to you since I was the one who pushed," she replied with a soft laugh that was still tinged with embarrassment.

"Then why are you blushing?" I asked with confusion.

"I guess I can't really wrap my head around it. In school, girls are identified by their experience, and I was always the prude … _the virgin_ … and now I'm not," she explained while biting her bottom lip.

I gently touched her mouth with my thumb to keep her from breaking the skin. "But we're not in school anymore."

"I know," she said, and finally met my eyes. "And that isn't really what's on my mind either. I know it's a stupid thought, but it feels as if people will be able to see on us that we've … you know..." she trailed off, still not completely comfortable with talking about sex.

I cupped her cheek before I let her know what I already knew. "Actually, the others believe we already did it."

Her eyes widened. "They do? Why?"

"They can't imagine two teenagers traveling alone wouldn't have already explored. I heard a man say last night at the bonfire that he thinks we ran away from home because you were pregnant and our parents demanded you to have an abortion."

A snort escaped her. "What? That's crazy!"

I nodded in agreement. "Still, it means your fear is unnecessary."

"I guess you're right," she said and smiled again. "You have a weird talent to always make me feel better. Do you know that?"

"Well, I try," I replied and pecked her lips. "We should go back to Gary and Katie's. Rip off the band-aid."

She inhaled deeply and nodded. "Yeah, we should."

Reluctantly, we moved out of each other's arms and stood up. Bella folded the blanket and threw it over her arm before we made our way to the van that had been our home for a month.

I shakily knocked on the door, and a few moments later, Gary opened it, bleary-eyed.

"Christ, Jack, why are you knocking at seven-thirty in the morning?" he asked and rubbed his face with his hands.

"Sorry, Gary, but Grace and I have something we need to talk about with you and Katie," I explained apologetically.

"Sounds serious. Well, come on in. We might as well have breakfast while we talk."

It took some time for our companions to ready themselves and sit down, but eventually, we all had a cup of coffee in front of us and breakfast on the small table.

"Where have you been all night?" Katie asked as she passed Bella the milk.

Bella blushed, so I answered for the both of us. "We went to the cliffs and fell asleep there."

"I hope you had something warm to wrap up in. It gets so very cold by the water," Katie continued.

"We had a blanket," I answered. "Um, Grace and I need to tell you guys something."

They both nodded for me to continue.

"We, uh..." I started and looked at Bella. She met my eyes and grabbed my hand under the table. "We haven't been completely honest with you."

Gary frowned. "About what?"

"About who we are," Bella answered quietly.

Katie leaned forward and reached out her hand to place it over the one Bella had resting on the table. "Sweetie, we know that already."

Bella and I exchanged confused looks.

"You do?" I asked.

"Yes, we've known from the start," Gary said. "From the moment you hesitated over your name, we knew. But we decided that you must have your reasons. Besides, you're not the first people we've met who've changed their names on the road, either to escape a painful past or to reinvent themselves. It's actually quite common, especially among us tramps."

"So you're not mad?" Bella asked with wide eyes.

Both of them smiled.

"Not at all," Gary assured her. "You're great kids. The kind of kids Katie and I would have wanted had we been able to have them. It was obvious you needed help when we met in Louisiana, and we were more than happy to give it to you. Maybe not out of completely unselfish reasons, though. This month has been like having a family."

Katie nodded with agreement. "Yes. Both of us love you as if you were our own."

Bella's eyes became blank as her eyes welled with emotional tears. I hugged her to my side and took over the rest of the conversation.

"Another reason for why you deserve to know who we really are," I said, but Gary held up his hand to stop me.

"No need. We know who you are. Maybe not your real names, but we know what kind of people you are, and that is enough for us. However, I suspect the reason for this conversation is because the two of you are leaving."

I shook my head with an incredulous chuckle. "Seriously, Gary, you scare me sometimes," I said in an attempt to joke, but then went back to being serious. "We have someone expecting us, and we have already kept them waiting longer than we first intended."

"We understand," he said. "Can I suggest something, though?"

"Of course," Bella spoke up.

"Let Katie and I drive you into town. The both of us would feel better if we could drop you off at a bus or train station. It might sound strange from a tramp like me, but you really shouldn't hitchhike."

"If you want to," I replied and was amazed at how well they had taken it all.

* * *

 **A/N:**

Our couple is leaving Katie and Garrett, Agent Lane now knows of Emmett and therefore has a new focus in the investigation. Will our teenagers reach their goal now that the feds have picked up a trail again?


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N:**

This is a short one, but we hope it'll satisfy you anyway :)

* * *

 **{Chapter 17}**

 **A. Lane POV**

"Here's everything we could dig up on Emmett G. Swan, sir," a newbie agent said and placed the thin folder on my desk with a trembling hand.

I opened the folder and perused the two measly papers in it. I even lifted them out of the folder and turned them around, but there was no more to be found. "This is it?" I asked with suppressed anger. "All you found was his birth certificate and high school grades?"

The newbie swallowed hard. "Yes, sir. There is nothing more to be found. He vanished after his graduation."

I rubbed my eyes with my thumb and forefinger. "I am surrounded by imbeciles," I mumbled to myself before taking a deep breath through my nose. "Obviously he vanished after graduation. He _ran away._ If he's half as smart as his little sister, he knew to not leave trails, but a person can't just disappear. It's physically impossible," I gritted out through clenched teeth.

"We've run his fingerprints, but he's obviously not a criminal. We don't know where to start. It's been seven years, sir," the newbie tried, but I was quickly becoming fed up with him. I waved with my hand to dismiss him, and he hurriedly left my office.

I massaged my aching neck with both of my hands and then stood up to look at the map of the states I had on the wall, and which I always used to trace a perp's movements. There was still a huge red dot placed over Little Rock as that was the last lead we had on the case.

The runaways had steadily made their way south until that point. What changed? Where were they initially heading?

A human worked much like an animal when wounded, hurt, or scared. They searched for comfort, things, and places that felt like home, but neither the Swans' or the Cullens' had any properties in the southern states. That only left one option.

They were heading to _someone_ , not _somewhere_.

But who? Was it the brother? If so, where was he, and how had the Swan girl gotten in contact with him?

I had so many questions that I wasn't sure I'd ever get the answer on, and the most frustrating part was that it felt like everything was happening right underneath my nose.

"Kids, where are you?"

 **{=TR=}**

 **Bella POV**

Edward and I had to take a bus first to L.A and then continue on from there to Phoenix in Arizona. On that 11-hour bus ride that stopped in both El Monte and San Bernardino, I fell asleep after just a couple of hours, which left Edward to entertain himself.

When I came back to, though, it appeared as if he'd had no problem with that because he was talking to another passenger on the bus; a guy with blond hair and a cowboy hat. He looked to be in his mid-twenties, and his southern drawl was heavy.

"I tried Los Angeles 'cause everyone said I can't stay at home all my life, but I dunno, I miss Ma and since Pa threw in the towel she's all alone in that big ol' house. My lil' sister got married last year and she's got her own family to think about now, you know."

Edward looked somewhat dazed and amused as he nodded. "Yeah, sure."

The guy noticed that I was awake and his mouth widened into a toothy grin. "Hello there, Sleepin' Beauty. You've been sleepin' more soundly than a tranquilized horse goin' to the vet."

I blinked, not really knowing how to respond to what he'd just said, but he was undeterred by my obvious shock and reached over the aisle between seats to offer me his hand.

"I'm Jasper Whitlock, and unless your boyfriend here's been lyin' through his teeth, I'm assumin' your name's Grace?" he finished it as a question, and I was endlessly grateful that he did because it told me what Edward had said while I was sleeping.

Still hesitant, mostly because my brain was still hazy with sleep, I took hold of his hand. "Um, yes, that is my name. Nice to meet you, Jasper."

"Pleasure's all mine," he said in the most non-creepy way anyone could say those words. "So is Phoenix your final destination or are you headin' further?"

"No, we're continuing to El Paso, and from there we'll see, I guess," Edward answered. "Nothing's really set in stone."

"Are you drifters?"

Edward shrugged, and I gladly allowed him to hold the conversation. He had always been better at lying than me.

"That's one name for it," he said. "We've been on the road for over a month now, and it's not bad, but nothing beats a real roof over the head and a soft bed to sleep in."

Jasper nodded. "I second that. I've only been away from home for a few weeks, but I miss Ma's cookin' like nothin' else. I can't even imagine bein' away longer than that. Might make me borin', but I like Texas too much to care what others think of me."

"Others' opinions shouldn't dictate how you live your life," I spoke up, and Jasper grinned at me.

"Damn right about that," he agreed, and then he dug around in his bag until he produced a deck of cards. "Hope you don't feel I'm imposin', but we still have about six hours until we reach Phoenix and cards is much more entertainin' with more than one player. What do you say?" he asked and held the deck in his hand questioningly.

"I'm not very good at card games," I admitted. "Jack's been trying to teach me for months but I guess I just don't have a talent for it."

Edward gave me an apologetic look. "I also have to admit that I lose my patience quickly."

With a hearty laugh, Jasper started to shuffle the deck in his hands expertly. "If you'll allow me, I'll make both of you experts before we get off this bus. I'll even bet on it," he said with a wink.

Edward and I shared a look, and it was obvious both of us were amused by this open, honest, and intriguing young man.

"If you're up to it," I told him eventually, and after shifting around in the seats to make it easier for all of us to play, Jasper dove right in to teach us all of his moves.

 **{=TR=}**

 **Edward POV**

"So how come two teenagers like yourselves have left everythin' behind? Where're y'all from anyway?" Jasper asked us when we took a break from playing and dug into the packed food Katie had been an angel to pack for us.

Both of us had expected him to ask at some point, and after having lived on the road with Gary and Katie for a month, and therefore having met new people every week, Bella and I had perfected our story.

We didn't even tense up in caution or surprise anymore.

My girl was as relaxed as she could be when she took it on herself to answer him.

"Jack and I graduated high school early and asked our parents if we could take a year to travel around the states before going to college. We're from Cleveland."

Jasper nodded and hummed. "I suspected you were from around that area. You two sound like proper northerners. And traveling around like this by yourselves; now that's brave of you. Don't think many others your age would have the guts."

I shrugged. "We don't really see it as a big deal," I told him with a smile. "I mean, we're already going away to college soon, and we have each other. I know I wouldn't have dared to do this without Grace. In fact, it was her idea."

"Really?" Jasper asked with a grin. "Are you a bit of a restless soul, darlin'?"

Bella giggled. "A little bit, I guess. But mostly, I just wanted Jack to myself for a while," she said and snuggled into my side, which caused me to smile. "You never really get to know a person until you spend every minute with them without luxuries."

"Now that's true," Jasper agreed. "Wish I'd known that myself before I got married to my high school sweetheart."

"You're married?" Bella asked and glanced toward the man with mild curiosity.

"Divorced," he replied. "Married right after graduation, but we started fightin' the second night of our honeymoon. About the stupidest things, too, such as forgettin' our wallets at the hotel room, or not properly plannin' things we were supposed to do. We realized we didn't work together outside of school. Broke our mothers' hearts when we decided to split, but it was for the best."

His story reminded me so much of how Bella and I had been when we first left Chicago, I couldn't hold in my chuckle. It caused the other two to look at me questioningly.

"Sorry," I said quickly. "I'm not laughing at you. I could just relate to what you said. Grace and I fought a lot in the beginning as well. We've only grown closer because of it, though."

Bella nodded in agreement and smiled at me.

"That means you'll most likely stay together for a long time," Jasper said. "But I already knew that. There's just something about you two that feels right."

"Thank you," Bella said to him gratefully. "After all this time, it feels nice to hear that from an outsider. Then we know it's not just in our heads."

"What do you mean?" he asked and furrowed his forehead. "People have told you otherwise?"

The question caused both of us to almost roll our eyes.

"You mean there are adults who don't like telling teenagers what they can and cannot feel?" Bella asked him with amusement, and it caused him to laugh.

"You have a point there."

"Our parents didn't exactly approve of this journey at first," I told him, getting back into our story. "But once we promised them regular phone calls, they relented. Still, they weren't exactly happy the day we left."

"I can only imagine," he said, still chuckling. "No matter how old you get, you never stop being your parents' children. Always their babies. It will follow you well into adulthood, so get used to it."

Bella and I exchanged a look, and while we outwardly smiled, both of us were relieved Jasper had believed our story. It was quite nerve-wracking every time because we could never know if we'd meet a person as intuitive as Gary and Katie had been. We did know, though, that if we were to meet someone like that, they most likely wouldn't be as lenient and allow us to continue on as we had.

At any moment, someone could recognize us despite the change we'd done to our hair. Bella was still afraid of it and she planned on going to a salon and go completely blonde before we reached El Paso.

The relaxation both of us had felt while traveling with our previous companions had already drained away, and we were once again out in the open. Neither of us would be able to properly breathe out until we'd crossed the Mexican border.

Still, a part of me couldn't stop myself from thinking of our families in Chicago. I was still glad to be away from Dad, but there were times when I missed Mom and Alice. I wondered what they were doing right now.

Had they postponed the move? I doubted it. I was sure Dad had pushed for it to happen anyway. That meant they were in Paris now.

Were they thinking of me? Mom probably worried, but Dad was most likely only angry with me for destroying his plans.

I placed my arm around Bella's shoulders and pulled her closer to me and then kissed the top of her head.

She definitely thought of her family. Her mom was a busy career woman and her dad was somewhat emotionally unavailable, but it had always been obvious the three of them loved each other. They'd had a relationship I'd never had with my parents, and in some ways, I'd always envied Bella a little bit.

Despite that, though, she'd willingly gone with me this far, and I'd never stop feeling grateful for that.

Maybe, someday, I'd get to have a relationship with my own family again, but I knew that it wouldn't happen as long as I was a minor and Dad had a say in what I did with my life.

As a listened to Bella and Jasper continue chatting with each other, I felt my eyes grow heavy, and soon I fell asleep.

* * *

 **A/N:**

Jasper got a little cameo there. Yes, he won't be a much bigger part of the story, I'm afraid. Sorry, Jasper-lovers!


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N:**

Apologies for the sporadic updates, but here's chapter 18 for you :-D

* * *

 **{Chapter 18}**

 **Bella POV**

Edward hitched our backpack higher on his shoulder as we stepped off the bus in Phoenix. Jasper was getting off just behind us and went to retrieve his larger bags from the baggage space.

When Edward noticed that Jasper was moving with slight difficulty, he walked forward. "You want some help?" he asked our newly required bus-buddy.

Jasper smiled gratefully. "If you're more flexible than me, it'd be appreciated," he said and pointed. "You see that brown one in there."

Edward immediately crawled into the space and pushed the bag out.

"Thanks," Jasper said, and gently patted his left thigh as if to explain his ailment. "Broke it about five months ago. Still quite stiff."

"What happened?" I asked curiously. I remembered from biology in school that breaking the thigh bone wasn't an easy feat; it needed tremendous force.

"Got kicked by a horse back home," he said while chuckling, obviously remembering the event in humor. "I was stupid and stood too close to our youngest colt when he got a hissy fit. Got none by myself to blame."

It didn't matter that he told us the story while laughing. I couldn't hold off the cringe when I thought of how painful it must have been.

"Well," he continued when he had all his bags collected on a baggage cart. "Thank you for your company, but this is where we say goodbye. Good luck in El Paso, or wherever y'all are headin' next."

"It was really nice meeting you, Jasper," I said and offered my hand to shake his. He accepted it and then tilted his head in a nod at Edward.

"Likewise. And who knows, if you stick around El Paso, we might cross paths again. Austin isn't too far away from there," he said and then with a wave, he headed toward the gate farthest away from our own.

"I have to say that I am somewhat surprised," Edward said, and I looked at him questioningly.

"Of what?"

"Just how nice most of the people we've come across have been. I would have suspected more of them to act suspicious of us, but apart from..." he stopped himself before mentioning who I already knew he was thinking of, and I appreciated the thought.

I stood up on my toes and kissed his cheek. "I know."

Since it was hours until our bus to El Paso was leaving, Edward and I came up with the plan that I'd find the closest hairdresser where I could go completely blonde while he found us something to eat.

I knew he thought my paranoia was bordering on silly at this point, but if continuing to change my hair color was what I had to do to soothe my anxiety, then that's what I would do.

However, after we parted, I felt a direct surge of fear and nausea as I realized it was the first time since Little Rock that we separated without being in trusted company. It was obvious I'd become dependent on Edward since we left Chicago, but it hadn't hit me that hard before.

For someone who used to be so very independent, it was a scary realization.

Still, I knew I wouldn't be able to work through any of my issues until I felt he and I were at a safe location where separation didn't necessarily mean being found and shipped back to our non-understanding parents.

During our time on the road, both of us had come to understand that running was an immature and impulsive teenage thing to do. That didn't change the fact that if we were to be found now, I'd most likely never see Edward again, though, and that was what kept us going. Had his family only moved to a different state, we could have worked around that, but Paris wasn't just in another country; it was on another _continent_.

In an attempt to calm myself down, I pulled out our phone and called Emmett. I hadn't yet told him that we were getting close, but if everything went smoothly from here, I'd see him again in less than a day. It was an exciting thought, and it helped me chase some of my worries away.

" _¡_ _Hola, Bella!"_ a female voice unexpectedly answered, but she said my name, so I could only guess that she was the woman I'd heard in the background at times when I talked to Emmett.

"Uuh, hi," I replied, but then I was uncertain of how to continue.

" _Lo siento. My name is Rosalee,"_ she continued in a very broken English. _"I am with your brother."_

"Right," I said, still unsure how to talk to her. She obviously knew little English, but it was impossible for me to know how well she would understand me. I momentarily cursed myself for taking French instead of Spanish at school. "Is Emmett there?"

" _No. He is working."_

"Oh." I felt utterly stupid for not knowing how to properly communicate with this woman. "Well, uhm, could you tell him to call me when he can?"

" _I will."_

"Thank you." There was an awkward silence at the other end, and I hurriedly tried to end the conversation. "Well, bye."

" _Adiós!"_

I exhaled sharply and buried my face in my hands in pure embarrassment. How could both Edward and I completely have forgotten that we were actually going to Mexico, a country whose native language wasn't English? How could we have been so ignorant? How were we supposed to get around?

Emmett must be quite fluent in Spanish since he'd been living in Mexico pretty much the entire time he'd been gone, so hopefully, he'd be willing to teach us.

With my cheeks still burning red, I entered the salon that had a sign for drop-in customers in the window.

 **{=TR=}**

I giggled softly to myself when Edward walked past me with a confused frown. He obviously didn't recognize me in my new hair color, but I was also sure it had something to do with the pair of sunglasses I'd bought just to mess with him. With those large spectacles covering most of my face, it was no wonder he couldn't see that it was me.

I stood up and followed him, and when he turned around to look in the direction from where he came, it was as if he looked right through me. I could no longer hold in my laughter, and that finally caught his attention.

When he was in front of me, he gently removed my new sunglasses.

"It's not nice to hide, you know," he said with a cheeky smile. "I was beginning to fear the worst."

"I don't see how the feds could have found out that we are here, so your fear is unnecessary," I said and wrapped my arms around his waist.

"I might always act cool around you, but I won't ever stop worrying about having you taken from me," he said before leaning down and kissing me like he had at the cliffs by the campsite. It made me feel all warm inside. "You look really good by the way."

"Yeah?" I asked with my eyes still closed. "You like the blonde better?"

"You look great in everything, but your natural brown is the best."

"Really? I always thought it was a bit boring."

He shook his head. "Nothing about you is or was boring."

We smiled at each other, and then we started walking towards our gate, his arm comfortably slung over my shoulders.

"You've gotten better at smooth talking, you know." His eyes turned amused. "You were always a charmer, but you've really mastered it lately."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said, but he was obviously still very amused.

It felt so very good to not always fight or discuss with him anymore. Maybe both of us could physically feel how close we were to our goal. Now, the only thing we could hope for was that we would reach it.

 **{=TR=}**

 **Edward POV**

"We need to learn Spanish," Bella said as we ate the sandwiches I'd bought for us.

"But your brother speaks English," I said, not really grasping what she was getting at.

She nodded. "He does, but his girlfriend isn't very good at it. I just had a very awkward conversation with her on the phone when I tried to call Emmett." She looked at me and then shook her head as she thought of the embarrassment. "We're going to Mexico, Edward. Where most people speak Spanish. We should at least try to learn their language, don't you think?"

I shrugged. "Maybe, but we're not really sure how long we're going to stay there either. We haven't exactly planned anything beyond Mexico."

"More reason to learn. What if we stay there for years? Do you really want to be the obnoxious American who refuses to speak anything but English?" she asked me, but the way she said it made me laugh.

"And here I was under the impression that you loved me the way I am," I joked, and she hit me on the arm in response.

"You know what I mean. Did you know that the average European is fluent in at least two languages? That native English-speakers are the ones that are most likely to never learn another language in their entire life?"

Her spout of facts made me feel somewhat uncomfortable, especially with her mentioning Europe. "Europe's not better because of that," I said, feeling tense and not in as much of a joking mood as the second before.

Bella, who had the keen talent of practically reading my mind, scooted closer to me until she could rest her chin on my shoulder. "I never said it was. And it wasn't my intention to bring you down." She reached down and grabbed my hand to entwine our fingers. "I just think that since we're going to live in a Mexican woman's house, it would be respectful of us to at least learn the basics of her language. Don't you agree?"

I did agree with her, but the mention of Europe had caused a really heavy stone to drop in my stomach. It was just so bizarre to know that at the same time as Bella and I sat at the bus station in Phoenix, eating cheap ready-made sandwiches and drinking soda while waiting for a bus that would take us closer to the Mexican border, my family was most likely sleeping in their beds across the Atlantic ocean, in their new house in Paris.

It didn't matter that the feds were looking for both me and Bella.

I was certain that Chief Swan had been hands on the case from the beginning because Bella had told me that was the kind of person he was. My family, on the other hand, had for all intents and purposes, abandoned me. Left me behind in the States because I knew there wasn't a chance in hell that Dad had postponed the move just for my sake.

I didn't tell Bella all of this, though. Instead, I turned to look at her and gave her a weak smile.

"Yeah, you're right. But maybe we could wait until we're actually there."

She smiled back in relief. "Absolutely."

 **{=TR=}**

 **A. Lane POV**

"Boss, I think I found something," Turner said while looking through a folder he had in his hands.

I was skeptical because nothing we'd found so far had been worth shit, but every new piece of information mattered. "What?"

"About six year ago, an Emmett G. Swan applied for a tourist permit because he was going to Mexico City on vacation for two weeks."

I sat up straighter in my chair. "Let me see that." I held out my hand for the folder and read through the copy of the document. There was a signature at the bottom that I recognized. "Hand me the file we have on him," I said to Turner, and when I had the, now, much thicker folder in hand, I immediately pulled out the copy of Emmett Swan's old passport.

The signatures were identical.

I grinned in elation.

"Well, this gives us at least one location," I mumbled.

"So you think he went there?" Turner asked.

"Definitely."

"But the permit only allowed him to stay for two weeks. Wouldn't it have been registered when he entered back into the states?"

I wanted to roll my eyes at the unbelievable thickness of Turner's skull. "Only if he actually came back," I said.

"You mean that he stayed there?"

My patience ran out. "Of course that's what I mean, you idiot! It certainly would explain why Bella Swan and Edward Cullen were heading south and who they've received help from. They're obviously going to the girl's brother in Mexico."

"And that's a good thing?"

I turned my back to him and faced the map I still had up on my wall. "Yes because that's the first solid lead we've had in over a month."

"No, I get that," Turner defended himself. "I'm just saying, Mexico is a large country, and if the kids have already crossed the border, how are we possibly gonna find them then?"

I didn't like to admit it, but the dumbass had a point.

* * *

 **A/N:**

So now the agents know where our teenagers are going. Do you think they'll miraculously find them in time or will E and B cross the border safely?


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N:**

Oh another chapter! How nice :)

* * *

 **{Chapter 19}**

 **Bella POV**

My heart was racing in my chest as I looked around and expected the feds to appear any second and jump us. Edward's hand was tightly entwined with mine and it was clear he was as nervous as I felt.

The border-walk was almost empty in contrast to the line of cars on the road that were waiting to get over from Ciudad Juarez into El Paso, and even more so was the strict passport controls when entering from Mexico while Edward and I strolled across undetected.

I swallowed thickly, my heart still beating hard. "This feels so strangely anti-climatic in a way," I whispered to Edward as we officially crossed the line over to Mexico. "Is it weird that I expected a huge roadblock?"

"If the feds have figured out where we're going, they still couldn't possibly know where we'd cross, so, yes," Edward said and it caused me to look up at him. "But I still feel the same as you."

I laughed nervously, and he joined me. "I can't believe we did it. We're actually in Mexico."

"Yeah," he breathed. "There were times when I didn't believe we'd make it."

"Me neither." I squeezed his hand and we continued our trek across without attracting a single look.

"Where did Emmett say he was going to wait for us?" Edward asked.

"He said the parking lot to the right of the border-walk. We're supposed to look for a tan and white Ford pickup truck. He also told me model and year, but it didn't make much sense to me."

Edward laughed and slung his arm over my shoulders before pulling me in so he could kiss the top of my head. It was obvious he found my lack of knowledge about cars endearing despite my own embarrassment. "Just tell me if it's a new or old model."

"He said 1973."

"Okay, good. Then we have something to go on."

I glanced at him suspiciously. "Since when are you such a car expert? You've never mentioned an interest before."

He shook his head with amusement. "It's not a passion of mine, but have you forgotten Jay's bat-shit crazy about that stuff? Couldn't have escaped the knowledge even if I tried."

The mention of Jay made me remember the rest of the friends we'd left behind in Chicago, and I couldn't help but feel guilty that I'd all but forgotten about them the minute we left. I sighed heavily. "I feel like such a rotten person!"

Edward, who hadn't heard my line of thought, looked confused. "Why?"

"I've barely given our friends a single thought since we left. It sure proves what a _good_ friend I am," I said with a huge hint of sarcasm at the end. "Just imagine what it must have felt for them when the police and FBI started questioning them about where we went. It must have been awful."

"Hey," Edward said and stopped me with the tug of his hand. "You and I decided together that it was for the best to not involve any of them. We did it for their sake."

"Who are we kidding?" I asked him. "We did it for no one but ourselves. So that they wouldn't accidentally slip if they were asked. That's not for them at all. All of them probably believe we're dead by now!"

"Maybe, but would you rather have told them everything and risked getting caught?"

I shook my head. "You know I wouldn't. But it doesn't make me feel better about it."

"We didn't do this for them," he reminded me. "We did this for us. So that we can be together. And we just made it. Can't we enjoy that victory for a short second?"

"I'm kind of ruining this, right?" I asked, and he chuckled.

"A little bit, yeah."

"Sorry," I apologized. "I don't know what's up with me. Maybe I'm just nervous."

Edward instantly understood what I was referring to. "Emmett wouldn't have offered for us to come here unless he wanted to meet you."

"No, I know that. But it's been seven years. That's a long time to hold on to the memory of a person who might not even be the same anymore."

"Then I guess the best thing about us being here is that you get the chance to get to know him again," he said and pointed toward the parking lot we were headed for, and more specifically, the Ford truck and the man sitting on the truck-bed.

We were still much too far away for me to see him properly, but what I did see made me even more nervous than I already was. The man on the truck didn't much resemble the brother I remembered.

In my memories, Emmett was in that stage of still being in-between his teenage years and adulthood, and his cheeks had still been smooth and boyish. His hair was short and curly, and when he wasn't fighting with Dad, he'd had a permanent grin across his face.

This man appeared much more somber. His hair was longer and a thick beard covered his jaw. He was wearing a white t-shirt and his huge arms scared me. I couldn't remember if he'd had muscles like that when I was a kid.

However, when we got close enough, and I was able to see his eyes, I was stricken with the familiarity of them, and my heart clenched painfully as they filled up with tears.

 **{=TR=}**

 **Emmett POV**

It was surreal to see my baby sister, my Belly-bean, walking toward me, looking more like a woman than a child. The artificially blonde color of her hair made her look even less like the girl she was when I last saw her, but when she and her boyfriend were close enough for me to really see her face, I knew, without a doubt, that it was her.

I jumped down from the bed of my truck, and without uttering a word between us, I opened my arms and embraced her tightly.

The hug didn't last very long because, as it was, we didn't really know each other anymore, and it would probably take a few days before we were totally at ease again.

I held her at arm's length to get a good look at her. "Wow, look at you, Belly. You've grown."

A tear trickled down her cheek, but her smile let me know it was tears of happiness. "I should hope so. I'm short enough as it is now. I wouldn't want to go back to how I was at nine years old."

I frowned sadly as I thought of how many years we'd been separated, and by no one else's fault but mine. It was still a clear memory to me; how much I'd struggled with my decision to leave my family, and especially Bella.

Because of our age difference, I'd always been a very protective brother, and to leave her with parents who valued careers more than familial love had torn me apart. In the end, I'd made up my mind, and also hoped that she would have contacted me much earlier.

Bella wiped her tears and turned to the guy next to her. "Emmett, this is Edward, my boyfriend."

Edward held out his hand for me to shake, and while a part of me wanted to evaluate the strength of his grip by squeezing, I decided against it. I was much too grateful he'd helped Bella get as far as they had gotten.

"Thank you for offering us a place to stay," he said gratefully. "We know it's not a permanent solution to be on the run like this, but we appreciate it nonetheless."

I nodded. "I'm glad to hear that. I was afraid I would have to have a stern talk with both of you about it, but let's take that at home. We have a couple of days on the road to look forward to first, though, so I hope you're not too tired."

Both Edward and Bella chuckled. "No," he said. "I guess you could say we're used to it by now."

"Good. I don't have a backseat, so you'll have to share shotgun." I grabbed Bella's backpack as she and Edward went for the passenger side.

"Where exactly do you live, anyway?" Bella asked as she climbed in first to sit in the middle.

" Hermosillo. It's over 400 miles from here." I started the truck and got us out on the road.

"How did you end up there?" Edward asked curiously.

"Well, I went to Mexico City at first, and I was lucky enough to meet someone my first night there."

"Rosalee?" Bella asked me to confirm.

"Yeah. She was there with her friends to celebrate that she'd been accepted to law school, and she saw me sitting at a bar by myself. I think she felt sorry for me," I told them with a grin as I remembered the event. "Anyway, I charmed her with my terrible Spanish, and we spent the weekend together. She went back home, and it took me about a week before I followed her."

"Are you married?"

I shook my head. "No. Maybe someday, but we haven't really talked about it."

"That's nice," Bella said dreamily, but then a yawn escaped her, and Edward immediately placed his arm around her so that she could lean on him. She fell asleep surprisingly quickly, but I was happy to see that Edward didn't mind being her pillow.

Just the way he looked at her was so very reassuring.

However, I had to ask him about certain changes in her that I didn't particularly like.

"Is she usually that thin?" I asked him.

"No," he said, confirming my fear. "She's lost a lot of weight since we left Chicago. She hasn't had much of an appetite. She's been very worried."

"Why did you take her with you when you ran?"

"I didn't," he said softly. "It was her idea. I believe she might have gotten it from you."

I sighed. "Yeah, it wouldn't surprise me if she did. I can't say I'm over the moon about it, Edward. A life like this is not to strive for. It should never be a solution to a problem. Only a last way out."

"It was our last way out," he insisted. "You don't know how my father is, and he never approved of me and Bella being together. If it hadn't been for the move, he would have found another way to separate us."

"Okay then," I said and nodded. It was no point in arguing against what they'd done now because it was too late, and I knew I wasn't one to talk. But I needed to make them understand that once they'd settled down in my home and gotten a nice meal in them as well as some well-needed rest, we needed to have a talk about what was in their future.

Unlike me, they hadn't graduated from high school yet, and without that diploma, their options would be severely limited.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed that Edward's eyes were also drooping. "You can sleep as well," I reassured him. "I'm fine with the silence, as long as you don't snore," I said with a none-serious threat and a small chuckle to solidify the joke further.

He exhaled deeply. "I'll just close my eyes for a minute."

"Of course."

As with Bella, the boy was soon asleep, and I could only guess that despite them having been on the road for as long as they had, I was quite certain this was the first time they felt as if they could truly relax. I could remember how stressful it had been when I ran myself, but at least they'd have Rosalee doting on them when we arrived at home.

I sent her a quick text to let her know that I had picked them up, and she promised she'd have a hot meal ready.

Words couldn't describe how much I adored the woman, and while I'd told Bella there hadn't been any talk of marriage before, there was a ring hidden in my sock drawer at home that just waited for me to pop the question. And I would, but I was somewhat nervous because a part of me still feared she would say no.

Hopefully, I'd pluck up my courage soon enough.

 **{=TR=}**

 **Edward POV**

"¡Oh dios mío! No son más que piel y huesos!" the woman who greeted us exclaimed in horror.

"Cariño, cálmate. Practica tu ingles," Emmett said, and both Bella and I were impressed with his immaculate Spanish.

"Sí, lo siento." She walked up to us, and since we had no idea what Emmett's and her exchange had been about, we looked at each other uncertainly. "I'm Rosalee," she said and offered me her hand to shake. "I'm sorry, my English is very bad."

Bella took her hand after me and reassured her with a shake of her head. "I think you sound great for having practiced so little of it."

Rosalee gave her a lovely smile. "You are too kind." She then gestured toward the kitchen table. "Help yourselves to all the food you want. I am sure you are hungry."

"Thank you so much," I said gratefully before I led Bella to a seat. We hadn't eaten a proper meal since we left Katie and Gary, so warm food would feel nice. I just hoped that Bella would eat more than she had now that we were in the safety of her brother's kitchen.

As Emmett had pointed out, she was alarmingly thin, but if the maternal glow Rosalee emitted was an indication of her persona, I felt more optimistic that she'd make sure Bella ate enough and gained some of her weight back.

Once we were all sitting, Rosalee and Emmett entwined their hands and looked at us. "Welcome to our home," he said and gave special attention to his sister. "We've set up the guest room for you and you can both get some more rest after we've eaten. We're not under the impression that you haven't slept in the same bed while you've been out, but we'd appreciate it if you refrained from any funny business for a while. Can that be accepted?"

I saw that Bella was about to protest like I'm sure any sister would when her brother gave her an order, but I hurriedly took her hand in mine under the table to stop her.

"Of course. Your house, your rules."

Emmett winked at me. "Smart boy. Belly, this one is a keeper."

She rolled her eyes at his antics but smiled as well. "You don't have to tell me that."

* * *

 **A/N:**

And exhale ... They're in Mexico! They made it. Now, they just need to come up with a plan on how to solve the rest of their problems. Obviously, everything won't be fine just because they've reached their intended destination, but at least they can relax a bit more now.

Emmett will take care of them, as will Rosalee!


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N:**

You'll get to see the plan for the future in this chapter :) What our teenagers want to happen and what they have to do!

* * *

 **{Chapter 20}**

 **A. Lane POV**

Another week had passed since we had the breakthrough in the Swan/Cullen case, and I was at my wits end. The entire team was convinced that Emmett Swan lived somewhere in Mexico and that the teenagers had made their way to him, but that was where the trail went cold again.

There were too many possibilities of where the kids could have crossed the border, and on the surveillance tapes we had watched, the border walk had been packed with people and it had been impossible to identify anyone in the masses. We didn't even know what date they crossed, or even if they had crossed yet.

To say the least, it was undeniably frustrating to have a lead that was so difficult to follow up on.

And to make matters even worse, Chief Swan had refused to leave the office since he found out we suspected his son to be a part of his daughter's disappearance.

"I can't make sense of it! How would Bella contact him?"

I rubbed my eyes tiredly. "I don't know. Maybe he left her means to do so and asked her to keep them hidden from you."

"Why would he do that?"

"You tell me. You know him better than I do. Does that sound like something he'd do?"

"I don't know!" He sank down deeper in his seat. "Emmett was always protective of Bella. He was almost like a third parent to her sometimes, and I know he adored her."

"If that's the case, there must have been quite a falling out for him to leave her," I mumbled to myself, not intending it for the Chief's ears.

"What was that?" he asked and gave me a frown.

"Nothing," I said and shook my head. "Look, Chief, I wish I could give you answers here, but I can't. It's your children, and only you can understand what's going through their heads. As it is now, there's not much we can do until the next lead. We'll continue to check a few of the borders, but it's impossible for us to check them all, or to even have an inkling of when they could have or will cross. You have to be patient."

"Patience isn't my strong suit," the Chief said quietly.

"God, don't I know it," I mumbled again as I stood up to circle another possible border-walk on my map. I had also started to circle a few possible cities where Emmett Swan could possibly reside. Mexico City had already been dismissed as it would have left an obvious trail if he'd overstayed his visa there. "Did Emmett ever speak of friends or possibly a girlfriend in Mexico? Anyone who could have taken him in?"

"No, never. But if he didn't have any, I know that wouldn't have stopped him. From a very young age, Emmett was independent. It was one of his traits that made me hope he'd follow in my footsteps and become a cop."

"My guess is that's not what he wanted, correct?" I asked with my back turned to keep the Chief from seeing my somewhat amused smile. I should have known it all boiled down to a battle of wills and that both the Swan men were too proud to yield for the other.

"Not at all. Not that he ever told me what he wanted to do. He decided to just leave instead."

Chief Swan's phone started to ring in his pocket and he scrambled for it, but a disappointed sigh left him when he looked at the screen. "Yes, Reneé?" he greeted his wife, and I went back to my computer to show him I didn't intend to listen to his conversation.

"What?"

Chief Swan's surprised exclamation had me turn back to him, though.

"What did she say? Where is she?"

Suspicion built inside of me and I gave all my attention to the Chief.

"Did she say why?"

I gestured through the open door to my office for Turner and Porter to join us.

"Do they have any plans to come back?" A sigh of relief left the Chief, and then he finished his conversation with his wife. "Yeah, okay. I'll tell them. Are you going to call Esme? Yeah, you're right. Okay, I'll see you tomorrow."

He hung up and looked at us. "Bella called Reneé."

"Hold on, Chief," Porter said and then fetched a recorder. "For her file. Tell us everything your wife said."

"Well, Bella wouldn't tell her where she was, but she promised that both she and Edward Cullen are safe," the Chief relayed and massaged his temples. "The reason Bella gave Reneé for their disappearance was that it was the only way for them to stay together since the Cullens' were just about to move to Paris. She also said that when they've found another way, they'll both come back home, but for now, their legal adviser told them to stay low."

I frowned. "Legal adviser?" I exchanged a look with Turner and Porter. "I don't even know what to call this case anymore. It's not a kidnapping, and just barely a missing person's case since the missing person made contact. We have no way of tracking either of them down, and now they've attained legal advice? Why? What do they need legal advice for?"

Both Turner and Porter looked dumbfounded and shrugged.

I groaned. "I would kill for a smoke right about now," I said and silently cursed my wife for making me kick the habit.

 **{=TR=}**

 **Edward POV**

"Both of us really want to finish High School, and we always planned to go to college together. There was never a question about that," I assured.

"That's encouraging, at least. It feels better to know that you have ambitions for the future," Emmett mumbled next to Rosalee, who was browsing through one of her thick legal volumes.

"Em, we're young, not stupid," Bella said and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Never said you were," Emmett replied with a smirk. "However, you've missed almost two months of school already. In any case, that won't be in your favor."

"When all of this is over, we can take extra classes online to catch up," Bella insisted. "We're not afraid of hard work if that's what it takes."

"Good." Emmett nodded, but then fell silent.

"Here it is!" Rosalee suddenly exclaimed. She placed the book down on the table and pointed at a paragraph, but it was in Spanish, which neither Bella nor I had really practiced much in the days we'd been in Mexico. We'd mostly stayed in the house, after all; both of us too tired to really do anything else but to help around with the chores.

"' _Emancipation of a minor'_ ," Emmett translated for us.

"What does that mean?" I asked, unfamiliar with the legal term.

"It basically means to set a minor free of guardianship," Rosalee explained. I was impressed with how fast her English had improved just by having the three of us around her all the time. She still spoke with a heavy accent and had to ask Emmett for translation at times, but mostly, she managed very well on her own. "They become an adult in the eyes of the law."

"Okay..." Bella said and waited for her to continue.

"That way, a minor will be allowed to take care of themselves without parental permission," Emmett further explained. "Sign legal contracts, get a job, find their own place to live, etc."

My mind started spinning as excitement grew inside me. "You mean my parents can't force me to move to Paris."

Rosalee nodded. "Exactly."

Bella and I exchanged a look.

"And we could return to Chicago and still stay together?"

"Yes."

I enveloped Bella into my arms and we hugged tightly as we were both so relieved that there was a real way for us to go forward from this. If there was one thing I had always hated with our running, it was that it potentially ruined Bella's chances of a good future. Now, perhaps we could go back home much sooner than we first thought, and we could go back to school.

"On what grounds can you apply for emancipation?" I asked with Bella still leaning against me.

"There are a few where you don't even have to apply like getting legally married or joining the army," Emmett read from the book, but then hurriedly looked up to lock his eyes with mine. "But there will be no wedding between you two just yet, do you hear me? Not as long as I am responsible for you."

"Don't worry," I reassured him. "Bella and I love each other, but neither of us would deny that we aren't quite ready for marriage at this point."

She shook her head in agreement. "Definitely not."

"Alright, well, then there is also if you are financially independent..."

"Not until I'm eighteen," I said, and it caused Bella to give me a questioning look. "I'll get access to quite a large trust fund set up by my grandparents then, but I always planned to use it for a place to live while attending college."

"There is also if you're parents are neglectful, abusive, or in any other way harmful. As well as if you have moral objections to their living situation—"

"That's it!" I said excitedly. "I do have moral objections. They're forcing me from everything I've ever known to a whole new country. Who knows what kind of educational system they have in France? It can ruin my academical chances to transfer to a European school so close to graduation."

"Actually, European education is highly regarded in the States," Emmett said apologetically. "So that might not be the best argument."

"Maybe you could apply on the grounds of abandonment," Bella suggested softly.

"What do you mean?" I asked her, confusion coloring my voice.

She inhaled deeply. "Please, don't be mad. I used the burner phone earlier to call Mom."

I didn't get angry, however, I remained confused. "Why would you do that?"

"I wanted to let her and Dad know that we're alive and well at least. I didn't say where we are, or even that we're with you, Em," she directed toward her brother. "But I just wanted to soothe their worry a bit, I guess."

"Right," I nodded. "That doesn't really explain your suggestion, though."

"No, but when I talked to her, I asked her to tell your family that you are alright, too, and she told me that she had no way of contacting them as she didn't have their new phone number in France."

I huffed. "I always knew Dad wouldn't postpone the move. Not even if I disappeared."

"That's just the thing, though," Bella said. "By going forward with the move, your family basically abandoned you as you essentially don't have a home here anymore. They've sold your old house."

A painful surge went through my stomach. I had always loved that house. I had so many happy memories from there, although not many of them included my father. "Seriously?"

"Yeah." She turned to Rosalee and Emmett. "Abandonment should go underneath abuse or neglectful behavior, right?"

Rosalee nodded. "It does."

"Great," I said despite the fact that I felt everything but. "Sounds like I fulfill the necessary requirements. We should do it." I stood up from my seat. "Will you excuse me for a bit?"

Without waiting for an answer from them, I left the room and went outside into the garden. Emmett had told us he worked as a gardening assistant, and the backyard gave proof to that with its lush greenery and perfectly trimmed lawn.

My moment of solitude was cut short by the man of the house himself.

"I know you said you wanted to be excused, but do you mind some company?" he asked me, and I gave him a halfhearted shrug in response.

"Bella wanted to come out here for you, but I said I'd talk to you first," he explained.

"Why?"

"Because I don't think this is something she can help you with. If she could, you wouldn't felt the need to hide how much it actually hurt you to hear what she said about your family."

I looked down at my feet as I didn't want him to see on my face how right he was.

"I get it, Edward," he continued. "You think she won't understand how it feels to have a family prove that they, in essence, don't care for you. And maybe she won't. She was the lucky one, after all."

"I'm not following you," I admitted, and Emmett gestured for us to sit down on a bench in the shade.

"Mine and Bella's parents won't ever win a 'Parents of the Year' award. Mom doted on me when I was first born because she had been told that she wouldn't be able to get pregnant again. Dad was so proud to have a son, and the first few years, everything was as perfect as they could be. However, being the only child they ever expected to have caused them to put unintentional pressure on me. They always hounded me about my grades and that I had to excel at everything."

He glanced at me. "I have a feeling that you can relate to that."

I only gave him a scoff, but it was the only answer he needed.

"When I was old enough, Mom started to focus more on her career and slowly transformed into the businesswoman that she is today. And during the time when she still had so much to prove at her job, she miraculously got pregnant again. It's safe to say that it stressed her out because she was afraid it would mean the death of her success if she went on maternity leave again."

Emmett dug through his pocket until he produced an old, worn picture of a nine-year-old him, holding a baby Bella in his arms. "She and Dad came to the decision that since she'd stayed home with me, it was his turn to take a leave from work. It meant that it was practically him and me who raised Bella, and since he stayed at home, she became his little Princess while he also got more time to nitpick me about my schoolwork."

He took the picture back. "What I'm trying to say, Edward is that I know how it feels to have a demanding father, and I also know what's it's like to see the same man who orders you around show so much affection to others when he never does the same to you. It doesn't mean that he doesn't care for you, or that he doesn't love you."

Tears I didn't want to acknowledge were running down my cheeks, and I sniffled lightly. "How can you know that? Did you ever meet my father?"

He chuckled. "I'm afraid I never had the privilege." He became serious again and clapped me gently on the shoulder. "I'm not trying to undermine your feelings or make excuses for what your father has done to you. I'm just saying that I understand, and if you ever feel the need to talk about it, don't hesitate to come to me. Okay?"

I sniffled again before wiping the tears from my face. Then I nodded silently to him.

"I'll make sure you have a moment and I'll keep Bella occupied until you're ready to come back inside." He stood up and left me alone in the garden, which I was very thankful for.

It wasn't that I was a guy who felt uncomfortable to cry in front of my girlfriend. It had everything to do with what Emmett had said. I wasn't sure Bella would understand how I felt, and instead of burdening her with problems she could do nothing about, I preferred to deal with them on my own.

But now, it seemed as if I wouldn't have to do that either.

I never would have thought that coming to Mexico, and meeting Bella's brother would turn out to be something both of us really needed.

* * *

 **A/N:**

I hope you liked that little conversation between Emmett and Edward.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N:**

Yes, you get another update already, and do you know why? Because the end is nigh my friends :)

* * *

 **{Chapter 21}**

 **Bella POV**

We fell into a comfortable routine rather quickly in Mexico, and I knew I wouldn't ever be able to repay my brother and Rosalee for their generosity. They claimed that providing us safety and, in turn, getting help around the house was repayment enough.

That didn't satisfy me, but when they further explained that since neither Edward nor I could get jobs in Mexico—not because we were too young, but because we were illegal immigrants—there was no good reason for us to waste the money we had to pay for food they already had in the house.

"Besides, we're family," Emmett insisted. "I'd never dream of taking money from you, Belly. However, once you have your own house with Edward, and I might have the need of a couch to sleep on, it's very possible that's how I'll cash in your debt," he joked, but I took it very seriously.

"If that day comes, you won't have to sleep on the couch because we'll have a room for you," I told him, and he kissed my temple affectionately in response.

After all, they didn't just provide us with food and beds. Rosalee was a very well-educated woman, and she offered to, kind of, home-school us as long as we lived with them because she didn't want us to fall too much behind our peers.

When both of us had protested, she'd said it would be an excellent aid for her to continue learning English.

As Edward and I had decided, we were slowly learning Spanish from Emmett, and while that had made Rosalee shine up with a smile, she insisted that she didn't mind speaking English with us.

One night, when she and I were alone in the backyard, I'd asked from where she got her motivation.

"Emmett will never ask me to come to the States with him because he's afraid it will ruin my chances of a career," she explained. "But I see him working with Emilio, and while I know he's happy being an assistant, he has the potential to become so much more. Things he can't accomplish in Hermosillo. If I learn to speak English really well, Emmett might stop feeling reluctant to the idea of returning home."

I hesitated somewhat, but I also knew I couldn't deny the amazing woman who'd offered her home to us the truth. "I doubt it's only the language barrier that causes my brother to hesitate."

"Oh? Then what do you think it is?"

"It's not the easiest thing, to become a legal U.S citizen," I told her. "I've been told it's quite a long and heavy process."

She smiled sweetly toward me. "Believe me, Bella, I know. I have made my own research already, and I also know it'd be a much shorter process if your brother could just give me the ring in his sock drawer one of these days."

Emmett had told me about his plans to propose to Rosalee, and it shocked me to hear she knew about it since he'd been so adamant about keeping it a secret from her. "You know about that?"

"Of course I do," she said with a soft laugh. "Your brother is far from lazy, but doing the laundry has never been his greatest skill. I've always known about it, but I haven't told him because I know he wants to ask me."

I let out my own incredulous laugh. "But isn't that frustrating? Just waiting for him to do it when you already know he's planned it for so long?"

"It's very frustrating," she agreed. "But it means so much to him, and so I won't take it away. In fact, the day he does ask, I'll act as if I had no idea it was coming because he loves to surprise me. Even though he hasn't actually ever succeeded in doing so."

A sweet smile stretched across her face. "That is one of the secrets to a happy relationship, you know? Be excited about their ideas, and don't ruin surprises unless you have to."

The advice caused me to give her a confused look. "Even if it means lying to them?"

"Sometimes, the truth isn't the best way to go. If the lie doesn't hurt them, I say it's fine."

"Sounds all backward to me," I said with a shake of my head. "Shouldn't there be complete honesty between a couple? Always?"

"Of course that's what you should strive for, but the reality of a man and a woman living together at all times makes for a few problems on the way." She turned to me and placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. "I know you've been with Edward through all hours of the day for several weeks now, but your goal of reaching us forced you to work together. Once the dust settles, things between you might feel different for a time."

I huffed and made an attempt to shake off her hand. "We've already been told we're too young by enough people. I don't need to hear it from you, too."

Rosalee didn't let me go, though. "That's not what I'm saying at all. You're not listening to me. It's not my place to tell you that you're too young to feel a certain way. I'm just saying that when all of this is over; when the two of you are back home and you fall back into a routine that might feel far away now, a few problems will most likely surface, and you need to let them happen because trials are what makes couples stronger."

"Edward and I have already had our trials," I said with a grimace. "We've had our fights, and we've learned how to make it up to each other. I know you didn't know us from before, but I will tell you this; neither of us is the same people we were when we left Chicago. A lot has happened on the way, and while we look like teenagers, we're so much more than that on the inside."

I sat down heavily on the bench. "I trust Edward with my life after this, and I know it sounds romantic and naïve to someone who doesn't know what we went through, but I have my reasons. Reasons I shouldn't have to justify to you. White lies might work in a more traditional relationship like yours and my brother's, but from the minute Edward and I agreed to run together, we became anything but traditional. I will never lie to him." I gave Rosalee a determined look. "Ever."

A sad shadow fell over her face. "I understand. I'm sorry if I offended you. As you said, on the outside, both of you are so young, still. Emmett and I both hoped that your innocence could possibly be restored eventually, but I see now that it's most likely never will. You've experienced too much of the adult world for that."

"And you don't even know half of it," I said with a small scoff.

"Do you want to tell me?" she asked and sat down on the bench next to me.

I knew that I could trust her, but I was still reluctant. Once I'd told her, she would tell Emmett, and he would then know about the assault in Little Rock. It had been many years since I had a really tight relationship with my brother, but I still knew how he'd react to that part, and I was afraid he'd take out his anger on Edward.

Still, both of them deserved to know the truth. Therefore, I slowly started to tell our story, and this time, unlike with Katie, I omitted no details whatsoever.

 **{=TR=}**

 **Edward POV**

"Are you okay?" I asked Bella as we cleaned the kitchen one day. "You have been really quiet since yesterday."

She sighed and dropped the dishcloth in the sink. "You'd prefer for me to always tell you the truth, right?"

I looked at her in confusion. "Is that a trick question?"

"No."

"Well, of course, I want you to tell me the truth," I said, still not quite sure what she tried to achieve with the conversation. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

"Not really," she replied with a small smile. "I didn't mean to worry you. It's just that I had this conversation with Rosalee yesterday, and it sort of stuck with me." She picked up the dishcloth again as I started to put the clean dishes away in the cupboards.

"What was it about?"

Bella rolled her eyes. "She claimed white lies are essential for a successful relationship. I didn't agree, and we both realized it's because you and I aren't particularly traditional."

"True." I nodded. "But you know what?" She shook her head and I walked up to her to wound my arms around her. "I prefer us the way we are."

"I do, too." We smiled at each other and then shared a quick kiss.

"Good."

We finished our task in a much more comfortable silence, but then Bella brought up the subject I would have preferred to wait with.

"Have you thought any more about that Emancipation application?"

I avoided looking at her. "Yes, but it's not that easy, you know. It's so much more than filling out a paper."

"I understand that, but maybe I could help. You've kind of shut me out from the entire process." She placed a hand on my arm and forced me to turn to her. "Did I do something? Is that why you're not letting me in?"

"No, it's nothing like that," I reassured her.

"Then what is it?" she insisted.

I scrubbed my face with my hands and walked a few steps away from her. I needed space to tell this. "Bella, do you have any idea what it will mean if I go through with this?"

She gave me a perplexed look. "Yeah. We can return home and still be together."

"No, I'm not talking about that," I said exasperatedly. I couldn't control my frustration even though it wasn't directed at her. "If I do this, it will mean that I break away from my family completely. My relationship with them has always been rocky, and it wouldn't survive something like this."

Bella blinked, obviously still not quite sure what I was getting at. "But I thought you wanted to break away from them. You've always talked about how much they anger you."

"Yes, but not like this." I scrambled for words on how to explain it to her. "My family has almost always annoyed me, and while I have my doubts about what my father feels for me, I know that Mom and Alice love me. We're all just crappy at showing it. Even though we're not the most perfect family in the world, we are still a family, and they've always been there." I looked out through the window and noticed that Emmett and Rosalee were out in the yard. "If I do this, that's it. I know I won't hear from them again. They won't be able to forgive me."

I felt Bella come up behind me. "You don't know that," she said softly. "You say your mom and sister love you, and I believe that should be enough for them to see reason one day. Maybe not right away or in the next couple of years, but eventually. Besides, it's not as if this wasn't inevitable anyway."

"What?" I turned to her.

"You're seven months from turning seventeen, and after that, it's only one year until you're officially legal anyway. We're just hurrying up the process." She cupped my cheek. "Isn't that a better alternative than to live like outlaws for another nineteen months?"

I chuckled. "Actually, it doesn't sound like a bad idea if we went back to Gary and Katie. I actually kinda miss that life, you know. It was so freeing. And I most definitely miss them."

"I know what you mean," she agreed. "And I miss them, too. Hopefully, we can meet them again, but I think it's best if we wait until the FBI stops chasing us, don't you agree?"

I mockingly sighed in disappointment. "Okay then, if you insist." It worked, and Bella laughed.

Over my shoulder, she also noticed Emmett and Rosalee in the yard, but she obviously saw something I had missed.

"Oh my god, he's doing it."

"What?" I turned to see what she was talking about.

"He's finally proposing," she breathed out as she tried to contain her excitement.

"It was about time," I mumbled to myself. "He's been agonizing over doing it for ages."

"Wait." Bella looked at me. "You knew?"

I shrugged. "Of course. I was the only guy he could confide in about it around here. He told me about a week after we came here."

Bella shook her and laughed softly.

"What's funny?" I asked, not understanding if it was something I said.

"I just think it's amusing that we've all known and just waited for him to do it."

"You're saying that Rosalee already knew?"

"She was most likely the first one to find out," Bella said. "That was what our conversation was about. She said that she didn't want to ruin Emmett's surprise, so she's pretending as if she had no idea. To make him happy."

"You know, I change my mind."

"Huh?"

I placed my arm around Bella's shoulders and pulled her to my side. "The day I decide to propose, and you happen to find out, I give you permission to lie to me about it and pretend as well."

"Really?" she asked with amusement.

"Absolutely. But then again, I wouldn't hide a ring in my sock drawer either."

"Then where would you hide it?" she asked curiously, but I just kissed her hair.

"You'd like to know, wouldn't you."

* * *

 **A/N:**

Let us know, do you agree with Rosalee? Is that the key to a happy relationship? ;-)


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N:**

This is the last chapter before the Epilogue :) You'll get the Epilogue later today. Enjoy :-D

* * *

 **{Chapter 22}**

 **A. Lane POV**

"There is nothing we can do," I explained to Chief and Mrs. Swan. "Miss Swan made contact and made it clear she's out there willingly, and that she and Mr. Cullen are both safe. We have suspicions on good grounds that they've crossed over to Mexico, and we don't have jurisdiction there. The case will remain open until the kids have returned, but we can't continue to pour our resources into this. I truly wish I could give better news to you, but for now, the only thing that can be done is to wait for further contact."

Renée Swan was a most impressive woman. She sat straight in her chair with a stone mask and hard eyes staring at me. It was quite clear how she became a successful business-woman, and I had to fight the urge to cower in my seat.

"You're saying my missing daughter isn't worth your time anymore?" she asked icily. Unlike her husband, she was calm, but it made me much more uncomfortable.

I swallowed subtly and shook my head. "That's not what I'm saying at all. Technically, your daughter's not missing because she made contact, and I have faith she'll do so again, but not until she has accomplished what she wants." I turned to the other couple in front of me. "The same goes for your son."

Esme Cullen was distraught, but Carlisle Cullen was as unaffected as ever. They had flown back to America from France a couple days prior because I had insisted I didn't want to break the news to them over the phone.

"But what is it they want to accomplish by doing this?" Esme asked. "I don't understand why they would run away. Both of them had bright futures. What could be worth ruining that?"

I leaned forward on my elbows as I prepared myself to give them the truth as I saw it. "Teenagers are ride or die; all or nothing. They have a tendency to dramatize everything because in their world when things don't go their way, it's equal to the apocalypse. Miss Swan gave us the reason. She said it was the only way for the two to stay together, and so I need to know: have you ever tried to separate them?"

All four of them exchanged looks and it was the only answer I needed.

"I know it's not very comforting, but the only advice I can give you now is to wait for them to make a move, and when they decide to return, listen to what they have to say. At least then you can prevent a repeat of these events."

 **{=TR=}**

 **Bella POV**

"I would be happy to be your legal representation but I am not allowed as I haven't taken the bar exam in the states, and you need an American lawyer," Rosalee explained apologetically a couple months later when Edward's petition for emancipation had come back with the request for him to demonstrate his ability to live on his own.

Edward groaned. "My case will be dismissed. I can't afford my own place without the money my grandparents left me. How am I supposed to demonstrate my ability to live on my own when I'm broke?"

I stroked the back of his hand because it was all I could do. I didn't know what to say, but it turned out I didn't have to say anything because Rosalee proved again what a brilliant attorney she was.

"All might not be lost," she said and leaned forward. "Do you remember what the agreement for the trust fund was?"

"You mean word for word?" Edward asked. "No, not really. I was very young when they passed, and Dad simply told me Alice and I would have access to our share of the inheritance once we turned eighteen."

Rosalee nodded to herself, and then started typing fast on her laptop. While she did that, she explained to us what she was thinking. "Before we give up, I think you should request a copy of the will from your grandparents' attorney. As a beneficiary, you have that right."

"Okay." Edward shrugged as he didn't get where she was going with this. I didn't either. "But what difference would that make?"

"It's all in the wording in the will," she said and turned to us with a smile. "Unless they specifically worded it that you'll access the money when you're eighteen, you might have the chance to get it earlier. More specifically, if you get emancipated as a minor. You will technically be seen as an adult in the eyes of the law, and you can use that will to demonstrate your ability to provide for yourself."

Edward straightened up in his seat, a new light shining in his eyes. "You think they'd accept that?"

"Depends on the judge, but I'd say your chances would be good."

We looked at each other and I gave him an excited kiss, completely ignoring the clearing of my brother's throat. He could play the prude all he wanted but after having lived for almost three months with him and Rosalee, both Edward and I had heard our fair share of sounds we would have preferred to have never heard. If I wanted to kiss my boyfriend, I would kiss my boyfriend.

Mexico, in general, turned out to be pretty great.

We worked on Edward's emancipation case, requesting documents, sending them back to the States and waited for results. We helped around the house, Rosalie gave us school work to do during the days while she was at work and at nights she gave us tests which she corrected and graded like a proper teacher.

As time passed, Edward and I agreed to regularly call my parents just to let them know we were still safe. Through them, we found out they were suspecting our location, and that Emmett was on the suspect list of the ones who had helped us, but since they had nothing confirmed, we didn't tell them anything. We also found out that Edward's family had traveled back from France when the FBI decided to take a step back with our case.

It made Edward a little bit happier to know that his family did care for him on some level and hadn't abandoned him completely, but it didn't surprise him either when we later were told that Carlisle had flown back to France by himself while Esme and Alice stayed in America.

About four months after we'd reached Mexico, Rosalee's theory was confirmed. In Edward's grandparents' will, it said he'd have access to the money once he was a legal adult, and we added that to the file we were building to prove Edward could definitely live on his own.

Once we sent that to the right authorities in Illinois, all we could do was wait.

It was nerve-wracking, but we tried to keep our calm as it was officially out of our hands. First, one month passed, and then another.

We kept up with our schoolwork, and even though we had pretty much missed our entire sophomore year, both of us were confident we would still be able to graduate with our old classmates once we returned to Chicago. As long as we did a few complimentary tests to prove we were at the same level as our peers.

Six months after we crossed the border, we finally received what we'd been waiting for. The four of us stared at the envelope for a long time as it lay, seemingly harmlessly, on the kitchen table, but in that envelope was the decision of Edward's and my future.

Neither one of us dared to reach out and open it, but eventually, Rosalee took it upon herself. With steady hands, she opened it, took out the content and silently read through it.

When she was done, she offered it to us without a single twitch to her face. Edward and I read it together and when we reached the verdict, my heart was beating a mile a minute.

 _Judgment is entered in favor of the plaintiff..._

I gasped and looked at Edward who appeared frozen with the paper in his hand. "You did it," I breathed out. I could barely believe it, but as it slowly sank in, the feeling was heady. "Oh my god, Edward, you did it!" I exclaimed.

He turned to me, his mouth agape, and he couldn't get a word out.

I put both my hands on his cheeks and smiled widely. "We can go home."

 **{=TR=}**

 **Edward POV**

Exactly one month before my seventeenth birthday, Bella and I landed at O'Hare airport. We had left Chicago in September, and now it was May. It felt sort of surreal to be back and knowing that I was no longer seen as a minor in the state of Illinois, but it was also the most liberating feeling I'd ever had.

Bella's hand was clasped in mine as we walked through the terminal together, and when we spotted her parents in the waiting area of the arrivals, her hold tightened. I knew she was scared of what her parents would do once they were back home. Unlike myself now, she was still a minor and had to go back with them. They still had the last word, and she was convinced they'd ground her for life for pulling the stunt we had.

When Charlie and Renee Swan saw their daughter again for the first time in eight months, they abandoned all manners and plowed through the throng of people to reach her. Bella refused to let go of my hand as they enveloped her in their arms and it made for a rather awkward embrace, but she didn't care.

"Isabella Marie Swan." Charlie tried to sound stern but the tears in his eyes made it impossible. "Don't ever do anything like that to us again, do you hear me, young lady?"

Bella didn't answer because she wasn't going to make any promises. It was, after all, a part of being a teenager to act rebellious, and even though our case was extreme, it got our point across.

"You're thin as a stick!" Renee exclaimed. "You haven't developed an eating disorder have you?"

Once again, Bella didn't dignify the question with an answer. I had to agree that it was a rather absurd question. While it was true that Bella was still skinnier than she had been before we ran, she had gained most of her lost weight back thanks to Rosalee and her fantastic cooking, but Bella had never had it easy gaining weight. She was a thin girl and she struggled with it as much as a different girl did with losing weight.

I looked away from them as I wasn't really a part of their reunion, but then a tap on my shoulder caused me to turn completely. To say I was surprised to see my entire family standing behind me was an understatement.

Even Dad was there.

Mom had tears in her eyes as she stroke my cheek. "My boy," she sniffled. "You're home."

"I am," I replied because it was true. Chicago was home, and even though I was convinced Mom had meant something else, I wasn't going to dive into that any further.

"I have missed you so much," Mom continued, but I wasn't going to pretend as if their move to France hadn't hurt me. I wouldn't forget that they had just left me even though I had technically left first.

"Well, you all know where I am now, so I guess you can go back to France," I said coldly.

Mom blinked in shock as she took in my tone. "Edward—" she tried, but I didn't want to hear excuses.

"No need to explain," I said. "I get it. Your job is important and you had to move. Fine." I looked at Bella who was also looking at me. "It doesn't matter anymore. After all, it helped me in the end."

"Don't speak to your mother like that," Dad said with ire in his voice.

I locked eyes with him. "I speak however I want with people who've done me wrong." He grimaced and opened his mouth but I wasn't done. "I'm no longer under your authority. You don't have a say in how I should act or what I should do. If you all want my forgiveness for essentially abandoning me without a home to return to, you'll have to earn it."

I turned my back to them and addressed Charlie. "Chief Swan, I know you blame me for Bella running away, and you have all the right in the world to be angry. I'm sure I would be too if I were in your shoes. I hope that you can forgive some day because the way it looks now, I will most likely become your son-in-law in the future." Bella smiled at me and stepped closer to me. "I'm also asking you to understand that I don't want to be separated from your daughter right now, so if I could get a ride with you to my apartment, I would really appreciate it."

Out of habit, I'm sure, Charlie shifted his eyes to get permission from Mom and Dad because they were all aware of my emancipation. Bella and I had made sure of it.

"Sir, with all due respect, my mom and dad are no longer responsible for me. I'm asking you for myself and your daughter's sake. If you say no, I will take a bus and I'm quite convinced that if I do, Bella will go with me."

"Without a doubt," Bella said confidently, and it made the decision for the Swans'. They didn't want to be away from Bella again so soon.

Before we left, I turned back to my mom who was gaping silently. She obviously hadn't expected me to act this way. I extended my hand and gave her a piece of paper. "This is my address if you want to see how I will live, but I ask you to call before dropping by."

With that, Bella and I followed the Swans' to their car.

The apartment I was now renting was owned by an old high school buddy of Emmett's. After making a few calls, Emmett had found out that the guy was traveling the world but had had trouble with finding people who could look after his apartment while he was gone.

It was the perfect solution for me because it gave me a place to live until I could find something more permanent.

Hopefully, Bella and I would have graduated high school before the guy came back, and then Bella and I could find our own place together in whatever town we'd end up in for college.

Our previous plans before everything had gone down weren't our plans now. Our dreams back then had been just that; dreams. We were naïve kids who thought we had the world at our feet, and while we both knew we still had a lot to learn and our fair share of growing up to do, we had learned a lot by living on the road.

We weren't necessarily kids anymore, even though we weren't adults either. What we did know was that life threw unexpected curve balls at you all the time, and the only thing you could do was to try and hit them out of the park or take the strike and go at it again.

The only thing that was almost definitely certain was that we would always have each other.

* * *

 **A/N:**

So this story was mostly about these teenagers growth and while they still have obvious teenage traits, I hope you can also see how much they've matured during the course of the story :)

As stated above, you'll get the Epilogue later today!


	23. Epilogue

**A/N:**

I told you you'd get the Epilogue today as well :) This is the last of the story!

* * *

 **{Epilogue}**

 **Bella POV**

"Are you nervous about tomorrow?" I asked Edward as I lay with my head in his lap. We were on the couch in his apartment where I had spent the night, much to my parents' chagrin. They didn't like it at all, but from the moment I turned eighteen, there was nothing they could have done to stop me from being with him whenever I wanted.

"What do I have to be nervous about? We've waited for this moment for the last two years. Once it's done, we can get the hell out of here," he replied and placed a light kiss on the tip of my nose which made me giggle.

"You know I wasn't referring to the ceremony," I said. "It's five months since you last saw your parents. I know it's still rocky between you."

Edward sighed. "It's not easy to maintain a relationship with people on the other side of the world. Mom calls several times a week, and I've talked a bit with Alice. Dad's starting to come around a bit. Last week when we talked he even said he was proud of me for being so independent. I almost choked when he said that."

I laughed softly. "Well, I guess even Carlisle Cullen has to see sense at some point."

"Yeah. It's the miracle of miracles."

I sat up and pulled my knees under me so I was kneeling next to him. "He's not the only one who's proud, you know," I said and smiled.

He met my gaze and returned my smile. "Yeah?"

"You've proved to everyone, including me, how wrong they all were when they said we were too young to know what we want. Now, look at you. You've been accepted to Berkeley, you handled working at Giovanni's without falling behind in school." I placed my arm around his shoulders, effectively bringing us closer together. "You showed our parents what it means to be mature enough to make your own decisions, and I have to tell you, Edward Cullen, that you are my hero."

We met in a kiss which still made my entire body tingle. After almost four years together, I actually found myself loving him more today than I did before we ran, and I was more convinced than ever that he and I were for life.

My much more mature brain obviously knew nothing was guaranteed, but I'd be damned if I didn't take advantage of every single moment I had with him. Starting with our high school graduation ceremony the next day.

I knew he was nervous even though he didn't want to tell me, but I didn't push. Edward never liked talking about his family or the rather wide cracks that had broken up between them after he was granted his emancipation. He had already predicted it would happen, and he dealt with it in whatever way he could.

I always made sure he knew I was there for him when he felt he needed to talk, and I knew he appreciated that.

Tomorrow was an equally exciting day for me because Emmett and Rosalee were coming. It had been a long wait after the two got married, but she was finally granted a green card, and they were currently settling in at their new place after their move to Boston where she had gotten a job at a law firm.

While I'd had regular contact with Emmett through phone calls and Skype, it would be the first time since Emmett left that he would be in the same room as our parents. It was bound to be tense and awkward, and I could only hope they'd all be on their best behavior because I refused to graduate without my big brother there to see me accept my diploma.

As it had a habit of doing lately, the kiss escalated, and I found myself lying on top of Edward, my legs straddling his hips, and even though I really wanted to continue—we'd definitely learned how to have good sex after we'd returned to Chicago—I had promised my parents I'd sleep at home tonight so we could have graduation breakfast together.

When I leaned away, Edward pouted somewhat with his bottom lip, and when I laughed at him, he exaggerated the expression further.

"You keep pouting, I still have to go." I climbed off him and grabbed my bag.

"I can't wait until we move to _our_ apartment in New York. At least I won't have to suffer the torture of blue balls."

I put on my jacket and then turned to blow him a kiss. "But the torture's half the fun, baby." I cast him a wink and then went out the door.

 **{=TR=}**

 **Edward POV**

It had definitely not been easy to track them down. It felt as if Bella and I had rolled through every camping site and caravan lot we could think of, but then there it was. The colorful van was unmistakable, and so was the couple sitting in their loungers in front of it.

Bella and I exchanged excited looks and then climbed out of our car. They hadn't seen us yet, and we weren't sure they'd recognize us either since it was two and a half years since they last saw us. Bella didn't look much different except her hair was longer, a little wavier and she was once again back at her ideal weight. I, on the other hand, had changed quite a bit. For one, I had to shave daily now unless I wanted to grow a beard, I was leaner as the last of, what Bella called, my baby fat had disappeared from my face, and my shoulders and chest were broader.

Basically, it was clear the both of us had grown and could now actually be considered adults.

We entwined our hands and slowly approached the van, and when the couple turned their heads to look at us, it did take a few seconds before their eyes widened with recognition.

"Well, I'll be damned," Gary breathed out and stood up. "I think this is the first time in my life I am actually speechless."

I grinned at him. "And yet, you're still talking."

He guffawed in response. "Still as cheeky as ever." Katie stepped up beside him. "Can you believe it, Katie? The saplings are back! Although, they're not saplings anymore."

Katie opened up her arms and Bella willingly stepped into her embrace. "What are you two kids doing here?" she asked when they parted.

"We came to find you," I said. "We've graduated high school now and both of us wanted to see you again before we move to New York to go to college."

"And we also wanted to thank you for everything you did for us. It might not have been much to you, but it was everything to us," Bella said with a smile. "You said you didn't care about knowing our real names, but we want you to know them."

I held out my hand for Gary to shake. "It's very nice to meet you both. My name is Edward Cullen, and this beautiful young woman beside me is my girlfriend, and love of my life, Bella Swan."

Gary wrapped his arms around his torso with a pleased expression. "I see I taught you something. That is what I call a proper introduction."

Bella leaned her head against my chest, equally pleased with what I'd said, and then also held out her hand for Gary. "You guys made a huge impact on us," she told him. "You were like a set of parents to us when we most needed it, and we've missed you a lot since we left."

Both Gary and Katie's eyes became blank.

"Both of us will be really busy with school once it starts, but we were hoping, for this summer, if you'd allow us to travel with you?" she asked sweetly. "You know, for old times sake?"

Without missing a beat, they hugged us from both sides while silent, but happy, tears trickled down their weathered cheeks.

"Well," Katie said and wiped the wetness away. "If you're going to stay, I need to prepare a larger dinner."

"Can I help?" Bella asked, and Katie smiled at her.

"Of course you can, sweetie."

As they disappeared into the van, Gary and I remained outside.

"How about you?" I asked him. "Anything you need help with, or perhaps any words of wisdom you'd like to impart?"

Gary pretended to appraise me with a hum. "You look like a strapping and industrious young man. I am sure I can find something for you to do around here."

I gestured forward with my hand. "Then lead the way."

"My pleasure."

* * *

 **A/N:**

So this has been a looooong road and having seen so many of you stay loyal to the story when updates were slow was nothing short of amazing! Thank you so much. It was because of you that this story continued forward, albeit slowly xD

If you have any questions, drop your thoughts in a review or pm :)

Once again, thank you, and peace out ;-)


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